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TEN  YEARS 
NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVI 


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TEN    YEARS 


tfORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER 


A  STOEY  OF  EVEEYDAY  LIFE  AND  WOEK  AMONG 


THE  SOUTH  AFEICAN  TEIBES 


FBOM  1859  TO  1869 


BY   JOHN    MACKENZIE 


OP  THB  LOmMN  MISSIOK^BT  SOCIKTT 


W  ^    •   ^  4 

•J 


EDINBURGH 
EDMONSTON  AND   DOUGLAS 

187L 


«     »  ».  - 


*       ».     ?  < 


PREFACE. 

I  OFFER  this  work  to  the  public  as  a  humble  contribution 
to  our  literature  on  Southern  Africa. 

The  reader  is  first  introduced  to  the  rural  and  village 
life  of  the  Cape  Colony.  Sketches  of  social  and  religious 
life  in  the  Free  State  and  Transvaal  Republic  are  followed 
by  a  description  of  long-established  mission  stations.  Several 
chapters  are  devoted  to  the  Makololo  Mission,  which  was 
inaugurated  so  auspiciously  and  ended  so  fatally.  Narrat 
ing  events  as  they  took  place,  I  have  left  their  lessons  to 
be  drawn  by  others.  My  journey  to  Matebele-land  enables 
me  to  describe  the  hideous  form  of  society  in  a  purely 
military  tribe.  Our  residence  at  Shoshong,  and  the 
experiences  of  the  Mission  there,  are  given  in  the  conclud- 
ing chapters.  The  Appendix  contains  what  may  be  read 
with  advantage  as  an  introduction  to  the  present  work.  I 
would  specially  direct  attention  to  that  part  of  it  which 
describes  the  results  of  the  past  contact  of  Europeans  with 
South  Africans. 

Every  Christian  believes  in  the  spread  and  final  triumph 
of  Christianity.  Various  opinions  are  held  as  to  the 
methods  of  securing  this  end,  and  different  views  have 
been  expressed  as  to  the  capacity  for  improvement  of  cer- 


Eices.  I  return  to  my  work  in  Africa,  cheriBhing  the 
liat  the  present  volume  will  furnish  some  information 
)  discussion  of  this  important  sabject. 
ig  to  thank  mj  friend  Mr.  Samuel  Edmonston  for 
irefullj  executed  and  fdthful  Illustnttions  which 
Q  the  following  pages. 

n  under  obligation  to  the  Eev.  Dr.  Mullens  for  acceee 
mmenta  in  the  Missian  House,  and  for  his  kind 
nee  with  the  Map.  I  am  also  indebted  to  the 
I.  Moffat,  Rev.  W.  B.  PhUip,  Eev.  Dr.  Brown,  late 
al  Botanist  at  the  Cape ;  to  F.  W.  Eeid,  Esq.,  T. 
Esq.,  and  other  friends,  for  photographs  or  sketches 
ican  subjects. 


CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 


PAQK 


Arrival  of  Dr.  Livingstone  in  England  in  1856— Proposal  to  form 
new  missions — Mission  to  the  Makololo — Dr.  Livingstone  resigns 
connection  with  London  Missionary  Society — Rev.  H.  Helmore 
appointed  in  his  stead  to  be  the  leader  of  the  mission  to  the 
Makololo — ^Departure  of  the  missionaries  from  England,  .      1-4 

CHAPTER  L 
THE  CAPE  COLONY. 

Arrival  at  Cape  Town— The  yonng  missionary  and  his  work— South 
African  Dutch :  first  attempt  to  speak  it— A  Dutch  store  at 
mid-day— "Baas  Slaap  1  "—Ascent  of  Table  Mountain — ^Intro- 
duction to  the  Governor  of  the  colony— Environs  of  Cape  Town 
— Rifle  practice — Arrival  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Helmore — Prepara- 
tions for  waggon  journey — Description  of  our  camp — The 
Karroo — Failure  of  draught  oxen — A  pious  drover  helping  the 
*  *  good  cause  *'—  Beaufort  West  —  Victoria — Hope  Town  — 
Sketches  of  rural  life  in  the  Cape  Colony — ^The  farm-house  :  its 
occupants,  their  daily  habits,  their  hospitality — Evening  wor- 
ship in  a  Dutch  farmer's  family— The  Dutch  colonists  and 
Romanism — The  colonial  village  rises  round  the  church — 
Nachtmaal— Business  and  religion — ^The  Boy  and  Bible — Candi- 
'  dates  for  "aanneming"  and  for  matrimony — The  colonial 
Churches — ^The  London  Missionary  Society  directing  chief 
attention  to  the  tribes  in  the  interior.     ....     5-27 


CHAPTER  IL 

FIRST  YEAR  IN  BECHUANA  LAND. 

Crossing  the  Orange  and  Vaal  rivers—  Waggon  upset — Griqua  Town 
— Rumours  of  war- Arrival  at  Kuruman  at  the  end  of  1868— 


CONTENTS. 

>  the  interior  missioiu — Proposed  bachelor 
FSJiti'-Olijections  on  the  put  of  tlie  Dntch- 
iY«al  to  the  new  niiasions — Impending  attack 
*nd  oecnpatiou  of  Kuraman— Poalponemeut  of 
Ulterior — Death  of  Mra.  Asht^n  and  of  Mra, 

ince  of  Sir  George  Grey  with  Transvaal  Govern- 
leot  of  hoBtilitiea  by  the  latter-  Hastj  visit  to 
e  Free  State,  with  Kev.  W.  B.  PhiHp— "Kom 
tore  of  MeesiB.  Helmore  and  Price  for  Makololo 
ce  at  Knmman— Learning  Sechuana— Bechu- 
rfedical  studies ;  introductLoti  to  practice — 
la— '"Naeathipa.'ra!"  .  .2 


CHAPTER  III. 

REE  STATE  AND  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC. 

.  of  European  population  in  South  Africa — 
i"  and  "trekking"— The  Orange  River  Fre« 
and  prodncts— The  Transvaal,  its  bonndaries 
'al  products — ComparaCiva  iegiilatire  and  ad- 
t  in  the  "  independent "  States — Feudal  fiechu- 
d  comets — Dutch  farmer  on  tlie  LanddroM's 
aitlandeis  in  de  dorp" — BeligiouB  life  and 
utch  :  the  "  Doppera,"  Liberaalen,  and  Urtho- 
Den  and  Canaan  :  "  Could  one  go  there  in  his 

I  creeping  into  use  among  the  Dutch — The 
IB  Sechuana  interpreter  :  result  of  the  mistake 
I  passport — Quastiong  concerning  the  future 
le  country  :  are  there  to  he  many  sniaU  inde- 
ir  one  large  republic  bordering  on  our  Cape 
e  the  houndaries  ot  the  English  possesiiona  to 
ei  north  f  .....   46-55 


CHAPTER   IV. 

iS  OR  HALF-CASTE  HOTTENTOTS. 

lis  nomadic  charge — Leam  to  live  a  settled 
nstniction  — Agriculture— The  "dorps"  of 
d  Philippolis— The  Oriqaas  protect  northern 
}lony — Bergenaars  and  Mantateee — BeneHcial 
an  teacliiug — Waterhoer,  a  pure  Buehntan, 
riqna  Town— Progress  of  the  work  of  Christian 


CONTENTS.  IX 

PACK 

instruction— The  ont-stations  of  Oriqua  Town — Drying  op  of  the 
fountain  and  consequent  dispersion  of  the  people — Pbilippolis 
in  1859  :  intelligence  of  some  of  the  people — Colonists*  charge  of 
idleness  and  pride — Imitation  of  the  Butch  in  the  every-day 
habits  of  the  Oriqua  men  and  women — Drunkenness  the  beset- 
ting sin  of  Griquas  and  Hottentots — ^The  brandy  waggon — 
Griquas  "  trek  "  to  No  Man's  Land—"  Menschen/'  "  volk,"  and 
"schepeels/*  .......   66-66 


CHAPTER  V. 
KURUMAN,  FORMERLY  LATTAKOO  MISSION. 

Bechuanas  first  described  by  Messrs.  Truter  and  Somerville,  who 
Tisited  Lattakoo  in  1801 — Lichtenstein  and  Burchell — Visit  of 
Mr.  John  Campbell  in  1812 — Messrs.  Evans  and  Hamilton 
attempt  to  establish  a  mission  in  1815 — Mr.  Campbell  returns 
with  Mr.  Moffat  in  1820— Purchase  of  a  tract  of  land  from  the 
chief — Building  of  church  and  dwelling-houses— Impressions  of 
the  people  in  1859— Irrigation  now  practised — ^The  influence  on 
the  people  of  an  inadequate  supply  of  food — "Lo  yang?" 
**What  are  you  eating?" — Sunday  morning  at  Kuruman — 
Estimate  of  Bechuana  Christians — Catechumens— The  inquii*er 
at  the  waggon—  Influence  of  those  who  introduce  Christianity 
among  a  people — "  The  nearer  the  kirk  the  farther  frae  grace  " 
— ^Too  much  teaching— Best  Christians  not  on  stations  with 
European  missionaries — Native  teachers  in  1842  and  1866— 
Proposed  seminary  for  training  native  ministers — The  heathen 
who  resist  the  gospel— Backsliders — ^The  future  of  the  Bechu- 
anas— *'  God  is  merciful,  and  the  ages  are  long,"  .  .    67-83 


CHAPTER  VL 
BATLAPING  MISSIONS  AT  TAUNG  AND  LIKATLONG. 

Taung. 

Batlaping  tribe  leave  Kuruman — In  1842  Dr.  Livingstone  and  Mr. 
Boss  join  Bechuana  mission— Mr.  Ross  proceeds  to  Taung, 
the  residence  of  the  Batlaping — ^Removal  of  tribe  to  Mamusa — 
Sketch  of  Mr.  Ross*s  life— His  labours  as  an  evangelist— His 
death — The  war  between  the  Dutch  and  the  Batlaping  in  1857-8 
— The  Christians  kept  clear  of  the  raids  which  led  to  the  war — 
— ^The  native  newspaper  at  Kuruman  and  the  war — A  Sunday 
at  Taung  in  1862— Former  enemies  unite  in  celebrating  the 
Lord's  Supper— Masse,  and  his  attempts  to  irrigate  the  land. 


LIKATL0H4},  THB  DlAMOMD  CODHTBT. 
long  origlDBlly  mi  aut-statian  or  Qriqni  misaion— Mr.  Helmora 
akes  over  ths  etatlon  in  1810— Chris tiuiity  interferes  with  the 
econstractlDii  of  the  model  heathen  town— The  Batlaping 
cattered  under  the  head  men  of  the  trihs— Jantjv,  the  Chiis- 
ian  chief  of  LikatlQag — Hr.  Aihton  joins  Knruman  misaion 
D  1842— Remotes  to  Ukatlong  in  1861— The  native  Chnnsh  and 
ininily-drinkiD(t — Discovery  of  diamonds  in  1867 — Sorprise  of 
he  nfttives- Raehto  the  "diggings  " — Description  of  diamond- 
eeking — Canvas  towns — Clninianta  for  the  ownership  of  the 
ountTf — Janlje  addresses  the  English  Governor— Necessity  for 
1  strong  government,       ......    84-97 


CHAPTER  VH. 

JOURNEY  INTO  THE  INTERIOR. 

s  Kuruman  in  May  18M— My  travelling  cmBpanions— Joined 
)y  a  hunting  party — A  Sunday  at  Maritaano  river — "Anld 
ang  syne"- Detention  atKanye— Acxilonial  blacksmith  andhis 
lealth- Visit  to  ths  Barolonga— Ruins  of  Dr.  Livingstoue's 
tation  at  Kolobeng- New  belt  of  vegetation — More  genial 
ountry— Sechele,  chief  of  the  Bakwena — A  sketch  of  his 
areer  and  character — Dutch  mode  of  treating  African  fever — 
In  eland  shot— Arrival  at  Shoshong— Meet  Hr.  Hoffat— The 
taznangwato  rememher  Mr,  Halmore's  address  in  their  court- 
yard— Mrs.  Helmore  and  her  projected  home  north  of  the  Zam- 
wse — Arrangements  for  entering  the  desert — Purchase  cala- 
iBibes  for  the  men— "At  the  jar  againi"— Furu  and  his 
rallet — Rousleyn  Gordon  Camming — The  desert — Nkowane 
i^ellB — Arrival  at  Lotlakane — Traces  of  Messrs.  Helmore  and 
>rice — Ertiact  from  a  letter  of  Mrs.  Heliuore  written  from 
.lOtlakane, 98-127 

CHAPTER     VIII. 

BUSHMAN  LAND. 

lystem  of  vasaalaga  among  the  Becbnanaa — The  Bakalahari 
[irmerl;  independent  Becbnanaa — The  mode  of  raising  tribute 
^>ln  them — The  Boshmen  have  less  in  common  with  their 
lastars — Auiit  in  banting — The  renson  for  chiefs'  lelnctanoa 
3  opening  of  the  country — Vassalage  and  Christianity — The 
■retcbed  condition  of  vassals  in  time  of  war — The  evangelist  in 
lie  deeert— The  Bushmen  at  our  camp  on  Sunday— The  Bush- 
len  very  superstitions — Petichlam — Sleeping  at  the  Bushmen's 
Ts— HnnUng  for  a  guide  at  Nchokotaa— A  Sunday  at  Knbe— 


CONTENTS.  XI 

FAGS 

Vassals  with  and  without  Christianity — "  Nerval "  hunting  on 
Sunday — Ntwetwe — First  baobab— Waggon-mending  under  diffi- 
culties — A  horse  killed  by  a  lion — ^Tall  Bushmen — ^A  strike — 
Rea<^  Maila — The  Makalaka  an  agricultural  people — Narrow 
escape — The  ''  boy  with  the  beard  " — Fear  of  mentioning  the 
lion*s  name  at  night — Account  of  disastrous  end  of  Messrs. 
Reader  and  Burgess's  expedition,  .  .  .  128-155 

CHAPTEE  IX. 
BUSHMAN  GUIDANCE. 

MakaUlra  reftigees— Matebele  outrage — Putse's  joke — Preserving  the 
water  for  the  oxen  by  keeping  off  the  herds  of  game — The  news 
of  the  old  Bushman  ftt>m  Mababe  :  "  Sekeletu  had  killed  the 
missionaries,  and  seized  upon  their  property  '* — ^The  story  dis« 
credited — The  Bushmen  decline  to  accompany  me  to  the  north 
of  Maila,  and  narrate  the  sufferings  of  Messrs.  Helmore  and 
Price  in  that  country — Extract  from  the  last  letter  received 
from  Mrs.  Helmore — Accept  the  offer  of  the  Makalaka  to  show 
a  route  to  the  east,  leading  to  Victoria  Falls — ^The  dilemma — 
The  Bushmen  and  the  Makalaka  meet  and  discuss  the  route  to 
lanyanti — Recommend  a  new  road  to  the  west — ^Leave  Maila 
with  two  Bushmen  guides— The  Bushmen  and  the  compass — 
Deserted  by  our  guides — Ruse  to  bring  them  back — Becbuana 
oxen  endure  thirst  best — Opening  up  the  fountain — Scarcity  of 
water — Proceed  with  one  waggon  and  open  up  a  path  to  the 
Zonga  or  Botletle  at  More  oa  Maotu — Meet  Batowana  boatmen 
on  their  way  to  the  Lake^ — Story  of  the  death  of  our  friends  at 
Linyanti  repeated — Still  incredulous,  refase  to  turn  aside  to 
Yisit  their  town — Folly  of  paying  for  guides  before  starting — 
"  Making  hay  while  the  sun  shines  " — Reiterated  statements  of 
the  calamity  at  Linyanti — The  waggons  stopped— The  party  of 
men  from  the  Lake — *'  The  white  man  in  the  boat " — Suspense 
— ^Meeting  with  Mr.  Price — Relieving  the  Makololo  mission — 
An  "  express  **  from  Kuruman — Bushman  guidance  and  Bush- 
man kindness,        ......  156-185 

CHAPTER  X. 

LINYANTI. 

Messrs.  Helmore  and  Price  reach  Linyanti  in  February  18d0— Hos- 
pitably received  by  Sekeletu — The  chief  refuses  to  remove  to 
Tabacheu — Unhealthy  season — Sekeletu  refuses  permission  to  - 
the  missionaries  to  remove  to  Shesheke — The  party  stricken  with 
fever — Suspicion  of  poisoning — Death  of  Malatsi — Death  of 
three  little  children — The  guardian  mother — Mrs.  Helmore*8 
death — Mr.  Helmore  resolves  not  to  leave  Linyanti  till  Dr. 


J 


grtoDC  »rrivei--He  has  a  relapse  ot  fever,  and  dies— Death 
ibe  BUd  S«t1oke— Fever  Bccompmsied  hj  acute  physical 
-Habuae  the  tempter — Sekeletn  lohs  Mr.  Price  and  the 
in  chUdren — HoBpitalitj  amoag  natives— Its  breach  by 
etn — His  endeaTour  to  explain  away  his  crime— Death 
n.  Price  on  the  Mababs  plain- Mr.  Price  led  into  the 
I— Arrivea  at  Lalce  Ngami,    ....  1S6-203 

CHAPTER  Xr. 
RETURN  JOURNEY  FKOM  LAKE  NQAMI. 
Zooga  at  Khame'i  ford— Effects  ottsetae  bite— Boating  on 
ouga — Tlie  Batowana  lordaand  their  vassal  a— The  Uakoba 
man's  proposal,  "  Cmne  in  and  conqner  the  Bechnanae  "— 
>ba  belief  in  a  fiitara  itato — Lechnlatebe's  town — Deli;;ht 
[t.  Helmora'i  children  on  our  arrival — Lechnlat«be  com- 

■  that  no  missionary  came  to  him — Lake  district  and 

■  erangelista — Mistake  in  selling  a  horae — Powder  must 
a  a  bag — Death  of  Dr.  Holdan — Game-pita— Bech  nana 
■men — Reluctantly  resolve  to  return  to  Eumman — Case  of 
an  fever — Effect  of  the  ait  ot  the  desert  on  fever — Oiu 
t-tempered  goatherd — Shoshong— Meet  Mr.  Moffat — Sym- 
r  of  Mends  at  the  Cape— Reach  Kumman— Illness  of  Mrs. 
[enzie — African  fever,  different  types— Livingstone's  pre- 

tion  a  epeciffc— Visit  to  Fauresmith,  .  204-22S 

CHAPTEB  xn. 

THE  LAST  OF  THE  MAKOLOLO. 

aent  to  Shoshong — Visit  to  Hontsivra'a  toani — Moleme's 
— Steadfastness  of  the  believers -Hontaiwe'a  daughter — 
'ather'spersecntion— Night  travelling— Boatlanama—aieep- 
'hile  walking — A  lion  in  the  way — FuUowe  the  waggons  and 
an  ox — The  Bushman's  portion — Pool  of  Selinye — Meet 
John  Moffat  and  Mr.  Price  at  Shoshong— Project  for  again 
opting  a  mission  to  the  north  of  the  Zambese — The  scheme 
ely  fails— Death  of  Sekelotu— Feuds  among  the  Makololo 
lurrection  ot  the  vassals— Betrayal  and  aaaassination  ot 
dIoIo  by  Lechiilatebe— The  triM  extinct— Native  interpto- 
n  of  these  evenU, 228-218 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
FIRST  YEAR  AT  SHOSHONG. 


CONTENTS.  XIU 

PAGE 

the  interior — Its  ravages  at  Shoshong — Inoculation  in  the  fore- 
head and  knee — Prowling  hyenas  and  their  habits — A  few  days 
in  the  open  country — ^A  misadventure — The  Bushman's  fire — ^Mr. 
Price  kills  two  giraffes — ^The  oryx  or  gemsbnck  at  bay — Horse- 
sickness — Attempts  to  cure  it — "  Salted  "  horses — Gradual  accli- 
matization of  horses  in  Southern  Africa — ^Woman  stoned  by  boys  ^  ^ 
— Brought  to  mission-house  for  protection — African  features — 
Bewildering  effect  of  colour — ^Departure  of  German  missionary 
— Knowledge  of  medicine  of  great  consequence  to  the  mission- 
ary— ^The  old  man  and  the  colourless  eye-lotion,             .           249-266 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  MATEBELE  RAID. 

The  native  wars  always  in  summer,  the  Dutch  always  in  winter — 
The  dust-covered  messengers — The  war-cry  in  Shosliong — As- 
sembly of  the  men — ^A  native  review — Women  and  children 
hasten  to  the  mountain — A  lonely  night — Visit  from  the  young 
chiefs — Prayer  in  the  moonlight — Refuge  on  the  mountain — En- 
gagement with  the  Matebele — The  war-cry  in  the  night — Inci- 
dents in  the  fight — Sunday  :  an  armed  congregation — **  Love 
your  enemies  " — Proposal  to  visit  the  Matebele  camp — The  Ma- 
tebele give  up  the  attack  and  return  to  their  own  country — 
Cruel  death  of  a  Matebele  soldier— Khame  and  the  lesson  of 
Sunday  morning — The  Bamangwato  raid  on  the  Matebele,         267-285 


CHAPTER  XV. 
JOURNEY  TO  MATEBELE  LAND. 

Return  of  Messrs.  Price  and  J.  S.  Moffat  to  Shoshong  in  June  1868 
— Death  of  Mrs.  Thomas  from  fever— Temporary  reinforcement 
of  Matebele  mission — Leave  Shoshong — Country  to  the  north- 
east drained  by  the  Ouri  or  Limpopo  river — ^A  buffalo  shoots  a 
Dutchman — ^Accident  in  the  Seribe  river^Perils  of  elephant- 
hunting — Arrive  at  Mahuku*s  town — African  Glencoe — The 
massacre  of  the  Batalowta  by  the  Matebele — ^Announce  our  ap- 
proach to  Moselekatse — Pass  through  the  beautiful  Makalaka 
country — Monyame's  town— A  rhinoceros  cow  and  calf  killed — 
Moi^ekatse  refuses  to  see  Sekhome's  missionary — Explanations 
— A  Sunday  at  Tlapa  Baloi — First  impressions  of  the  Matebele 
— The  camp  of  Moselekatse — Our  reception — Arrival  at  Tnyate 
—  Mrs.  Thomas  and  the  Matebele,  .  .  .  286-306 


CHAPTER  XVL 
HOSELEKATaK 

rl;  history  of  tbii  chief — Deaerta  from  'nttuka,  leading  with  him 
all  his  regiment — Scattera  the  Bechoena  tribes  and  occapiea  their 
coantiy—Viiiited  by  Hr.  Ho&t  and  Dr.  Smitb — Hie  idvaa  of 
the  Bi^liah— Attacked  by  Griqmu,  hy  Zulus,  and  by  Jhitchmen 
from  the  colony — He  removes  northvard — Bebellioa  and  dealli 
ofoneofhiasDne— Takes  np  bis  rvaidencs  In  Mash ona  country 
— Maaiacres  Makalaka  women  — Pellowed  by  Dntohmen,  who  are 
nnancceaaful— Mr.  Moffat  twice  visits  him  in  his  present  country 
—Arrival  of  mission  partyin  1869— Waggons  palled  by  soldiers 
—Early  difficulties  of  the  mission— The  missionaries  distmstal 
aa  spies— EiplanHtion  of  this  fueling — A  change  takes  place  in  the 
treatment  of  the  missionaries— They  ore  invited  to  settle  at  In- 
yate — Preaching  through  Interpreten  before  Moselekatee — The 
cbiers  emendations — Village  preaching  began — Killing  game  for 
the  congregation— A  native  history  of  the  planting  of  Chris- 
tianity—Moselekatae's  chief  officer  conducting  the  white  man's 
dance,  or  nligioua  aervice — Tbe  etiquette  of  Moselehatse's  coort 
— Sittii^;  on  a  atool — The  miasionariea  rank  as  "  sons  of  Hosele- 
katae  "—Dining  at  court  in  Hatabele-land,  S07 

CBAPTEE  XVII. 

A  MILITARY  TRIBE  AND  UHRISTIANITV. 

tebele  tribe  exhibits  a  complete  military  despotiam— Society 
exists  for  the  chief— All  the  people  and  all  the  property  belong 
to  him— The  head  men  :  their  precarious  life,  their  habits — The 
"chiefs  knife" — Death  of  Monyebe — The  common  soldiers — 
Law  of  celibacy — The  career  of  the  captive  boy  to  Ma1«bele 
manhood — Incentives  to  leave  the  restraints  of  Hatebele  bamchs 
for  tbe  licanae  of  the  war-party- Ihe  Zulus  despise  the  captive* ; 
the  latter  bare  little  or  no  religion— The  missionary  among 
■uch  a  people— The  "strong  man  armed" — Impatience  for 
results— The  Spirit  of  God  all-powerful- The  oondition  of  the 
Hatebele  without  a  parallel  in  New  Testament— DawningB  of 
good  impressions — ConveraBtion  with  Moselekatse — His  CBuning 
reply — Experiment  to  show  Uatebele  head  men  the  power  of 
letters— Law  of  celibacy  relaxed  through  luHuence  of  mission- 
aries— Decrease  of  bloodthirstiness  among  the  Matebcle- 
Variooa  theories  concfming  barbarons  tribes — Christianity 
effete— French  polish— Christianity  and  civilisation  noited  at  a 
mission  station — The  old  heathen  life  impossible  to  the  natives 
through  the  deatmction  of  game— Trade  followed  Chrlstdauity 


CONTENTS.  XV 

PAOR 

into  Matebele-land — Soldiers  begin  to  acqaire  private  property 
— Ideas  as  to  dress — ^Mistaken  identity — ^Taking  leave  of  Mosele- 
katse :  the  old  chief  pleads  for  medicine — My  waggon  pulled 
out  of  a  river  by  soldiers— A  scramble — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sykes 
accompany  ns  to  Monyame's — ^A  night  scene  at  Shashane  river 
— **  Nero"  and  the  lion — ^Arrive  at  Shosbong — Discovery  of  gold 
in  Mashona-Iand  by  Mr.  Mauch — Matebele  object  to  explora- 
tion of  the  country— Death  of  Moselekatse  in  1868 — Romantic 
story  of  a  son  and  successor  in  Natal — ^The  tribe  divides  on  the 
subject — Lobingole,  the  victor,  declared  chief— The  mission 
station  at  Inyate  a  place  of  refuge  for  the  wounded  of  both 
parties,       .......  324-854 

CHAPTER  XVin. 
A  CHAPTER  OP  BAMANGWATO  HISTORY. 

Bamangwato  tradition  preserves  names  of  seven  chiefs — The  Bahurutse 
take  the  first  rank  in  North  Bechuana-land — ^The  BaAgwaketse, 
the  Bakwena,  and  the  Bamangwato,  originally  one  tribe — 
Division  of  the  Bamangwato  in  the  days  of  Matipi — Afiectiug 
story  of  this  chief :  broken-hearted  in  his  old  age  he  commits 
suicide — Khari,  the  favourite  of  Bamangwato  story — His  death 
in  the  battle-field — ^The  Bamangwato  scattered — The  Makololo 
and  Matebele  pass  northwaixl — Moselekatse's  cruelties — Heroic 
speech  of  one  of  the  Bamangwato— They  rescue  their  cattle  from 
the  Matebele — Sekhome  kilis  the  Matebele  tax-gatherers — The 
history  of  Macheng — Complications  at  Shoshong — Sechele  plays 
at  chief-making— The  "  child  of  cattle  "—The  Bamangwato  are 
fond  of  their  hills— Possible  explanation  of  fondness  of  moun- 
taineers for  their  native  land — The  town  of  Shoshong— The 
Machwapong— The  Basilika— The  laying  out  of  a  Bechuana 
town — The  cattle-posts  and  hunting  stations,  and  their  relation 
to  the  town — No  purchase  of  land — No  boundary  lines  between 
tribes,         .......  865-370 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

RELIGION  AND  POLITY  OF  THE  BAMANGWATO. 

Offices  of  the  Bechuana  chief— As  ch^f— Public  assemblies— Their 
uses — Aa  judge — Ideas  of  property — Head  men  the  assessors — 
Advocates  and  their  speeches — Modes  of  procedure — Justice 
often  miscarries — Irritation  of  Europeans,  and  unreasonable 
expectations — ^Theory  and  practice  of  law — Fine,  maiming,  death 
— ^As  commander-in-chief  qf  tfie  men — Circumcision^The  lesson 
of  endurance— Not  sparing  the  rod— The  steps  to  Bechuana 


CONTESTS. 

mtnhood— Regimenti  enrolled  accordidgto  uge— Earif  missIoD- 
■ries  and  drcumcieion — "BoyaU" — iDtroduction  to  Becliaana 
wonunliood — The  loaion  to  endure  well  leamt, — alio  a  Chriatiaa 
leswn — A>  ngaia  or  prUii — The  medical  profesaion  at  Shoshong 
—Entrance  fee — "Teaching  to  dig" — BabooU'ikin  head-dreaii 
ani)  hyena  skin  mat— A  conaultstion  of  doctore — Attending  a 
atingy  patient — Pnblic  duties  atltugaka — Preparation  oflipeku 
or  town-channa— Bain-makiog— CutUng  the  sacred  hack-Uiorn 
^Widows  and  widowera  unclean — Cleansing  the  hearths — 
Sacred  Ure — SacriBciDg,  and  praying  to  ancBBtora— "  The  rain 
has  fallen" — Ngaka  and  moloi — The  wizard  roounted  on  the 
hyena — Drising  away  i»i[i — Sekhome  bawilching  Sechele's  oom- 
fielda— Pnnishment  of  the  wiiards—"  Given  over"  to  a  bnftalo 
— Worship  oa  high  place*  and  in  gro»ea  -Prayer  before  a  large 
tree — Supentitione  fears — The  sacred  animal,  the  owl,  the  goat, 
and  the  cow,  which  "  transgress  " — Ceremoniea  somewhat  simi- 
lar to  Levitical  code— Morimo  (God) — Two  plurala — Only  one 

■IngnUr, 371-3&G 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  LEAVEN  OF  THE  OOaPEL. 

(nlng  ignorance — Bechnana  "caaCe"  the  barrier  to  the  sp«edy 
reception  of  the  gospel — Work  in  the  schools — Capadties  of 
Bechuanas— Opinions  of  Kev.H.  Calderwood— KeT.  Dr.  Wilson 
of  Bombay— Dr.  Livingstone — Retentive  memory  of  the  people 
— Bechnana  diplomacy  -The  plea  Nat  Qnilty  folly  taken  advan- 
tage of  by  Bechoanaa— Beautiful  appearance  of  the  town  in 
Bummer — Suicide  of  a  Matel>ele  refugee — Bamangwato  attacked 
by  Bakwena — Rumoured  attack  by  Hatabele — Perplexity  of 
Bekhome — Hia  evening  visits  to  my  house—"  The  heart  of  the 
white  man  straight,  the  heart  of  the  black  man  crooked" — 
Sskhome's  conception  of  becoming  a  Christian,  .  .  396-109 


CHAPTER  XXL 

THE  TRIAL  OP  FAITH. 

ygamy  the  cause  of  feuds — The  ceremouy  of  "  boguera  " — At- 
tempt on  the  part  of  Sekhome  to  compel  his  sons  to  attend— By 
hia  entreaties  and  threats  he  persuaiiee  two  to  give  up  attending 
church  and  school— Steadfastneaa  of  Khame  and  other  two  sons 
—  Beginning  of  persecution— Build  a  new  hoxiee- The  chief 
seeks  a  quarrel  with  the  missionaries— Hostility  of  the  head 
men  to  TshQknrn- Thb  is  miieJ  up  with  the  opposition  to  the 


CONTENTS.  XVU 

PAGE 

Word  of  God— Khame  commanded  to  take  home  a  heathen 
woman  as  his  head  wife — His  refusal— Khamane's  wife  does  not 
attend  the  "boyali"  before  marriage — Tlie  town  in  arms — 
Sckhome's  men  desert  him — His  flight — Forbearance  of  his  sons 
—Settlement  of  the  strife — The  baloi  bewitching  the  young 
chiefs  house,         ......  410-422 

CHAPTEK  XXIL 

THE  FATHER  AGAINST  THE  SON. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Price  leave  Shoshong — Their  labours  at  Sechele*s 
town — Ideas  of  church -membership — Khame  warned  of  a  new 
plot  against  him — Driven  from  the  town — Attitude  of  the 
people — Firing  begins  at  dawn — Position  of  some  English 
traders — ^A  strange  "  neutral "  position — Missionary's  premises 
respected — ^A  congregation  on  the  mountain — The  property  of 
absent  Englishmen  handed  to  the  missionary  by  both  parties — 
"Blood  drawn  by  an  Englishman" — A  "black  watch" — In- 
visible attendants— Sekhome's  secret  council — His  mother's 
speech — Hooted  on  the  streets — The  scene  in  the  kotla — Cause 
of  the  irritation — The  wizard  shot — The  people's  temper  im- 
firoyes,       .......  423-440 

CHAPTER  XXni. 
FLIGHT  OF  SEKHOME. 

Khame  besieged  on  the  mountain — ^The  missionary  acts  as  messenger 
— Terms  of  agreement— Flight  of  Tshnkuru — His  death  at 
Sechele's  town — The  death-wail — ^Arrival  of  Macheng — Kbame's 
speech — The  two  brothers— Macheng  recognised  chief — Con- 
fession of  Sekhome — Final  effort  of  Sekhome  to  overcome  his 
enemies — Failure  of  the  scheme — Sekhome's  trust  in  the  mis- 
sionary— His  flight  from  Shoshong — Fact  and  fiction— Opinion 
of  Dr.  Fritsch,        ......  441-452 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD— BUILDING  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

Gold  discovered  at  Tatie  river  in  1867  by  Mr.  Mauch,  and  after- 
wards in  Mashona-land — ^The  mines  had  been  previously  worked 
— Proposal  by  the  Transvaal  Government  to  native  chiefs — Its 
reception— Sweeping  measure  of  Transvaal  Executive — Public 
assembly  at  Shoshong— Macheng's  offer  to  the  Governor  at  the 

b 


r  ILLUSTEATIONS. 


T  KDRDMAN, 


LINYANTI, 
UNTAIN, 


Fnmtiipitee. 

,    /nmlingpage   60 


IN8TRUMENT, 


3E  BE"--  ■■  : 
3UC  Lii^ 


INTRODUCTION. 


185  69  after  a  period  of  such  anxious  waiting  as  is 

bemg  endured  in  1870,  the  friends  of  Dr.  Idvingstone 

the  happiness  of  welcoming  him  to  his  native  country, 

of  congratulating  him  upon  the  success  of  his  ezplo- 

journey  across  the  African  continent.    And  while 

public  admired  the  patience  and  indomitable  per* 

ice  of  this  Christian  missionary  and  explorer,  it  was 

on  all  hands  that  his  discoveries  widened  the  range 

sympathies  and  of  our  responidbilities.     Christian  • 

les  took  for  their  text  a  sentiment  uttered  by  Dr. 

me:  ^'  The  end  of  the  geographical  feat  is  but  the 

ig  of  the  missionary  enterprise."    The  two  English 

rersities  organized  a  mission,  which  they  placed  under 

care  of  the  lamented  Bishop  Mackenzie.    The  Free 

;h  of  Scotland,  embodying  in  this  instance  caution  as 

as  enterprise,  sent  out  the  £ev.  James  Stewart^  to 

upon  the  practicability  of  commencing  missionary 

ktions  in  the  newly-explored  territory.     The  London 

denary  Society,  under  whose  auspices  the  explorations 

been  effected,  took  steps  to  carry  into  execution  a 

ime  suggested  by  Dr.  Livingstone,  and  which  had  been 

itionally  announced  by  him  to  the  people  for  whose 

ifit  it  was  intended.     The  Makololo  tribe,  originally 

Basutoland  in  the  south,  were  found  by  Dr.  Idving- 

>  Now  Bev.  Br.  Stewart  of  LoTodale  Seminary,  Cape  Colony. 

A 


2  INTRODUCTION. 

stone  occupying  the  country  between  the  Chobe  and  the 
Shesheke,  and  exercising  supremacy  over  the  Barotse,  the 
Bashubea,  the  Bashukulompo,  and  other  tribes  of  the 
interior.  The  Doctor  paid  several  visits  to  Linyanti,  the 
chief  town  of  the  Makololo,  and  possessed  great  influence 
with  the  chief.  Members  of  the  tribe  had  been  his  faith- 
fill  companions  to  Loanda  on  the  west  and  to  Quilimane 
on  the  east  coast  The  Makololo  had  expressed  a  desire 
that  a  missionary  should  reside  with  them;  and  had 
given  the  Doctor  to  understand  that  they  were  willing  to 
remove  with  their  ^  teacher"  from  the  deadly  swamps  of 
Linyanti  to  a  healthier  locality  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Zambese.  They  had  indeed  some  misgivings  about  return- 
ing to  a  country  which  they  had  evacuated  through  fear  of 
their  sworn  enemies  the  Matebele  Zulus.  But  it  was 
hoped  that  the  presence  of  a  missionary  among  the  Mako- 
lolo would  be  a  '^shield"  or  protection  to  them  from 
Moselekatse ;  and  to  complete  the  scheme  it  was  resolved 
to  establish  a  second  mission  among  the  Matebele,  with  a 
view  not  only  to  the  enlightenment  of  that  tribe,  but  in 
order  to  insure  the  success  of  the  mission  to  the  Makololo. 
The  Rev.  Robert  Moffat  of  Kuruman,  an  old  friend  of 
Moselekatse,  the  chief  of  the  Matebele,  was  commissioned 
to  superintend  the  estabUshment  of  the  southern  mission, 
while  the  northern  one  was  to  be  under  the  care  of  his 
son-in-law.  Dr.  Livingstone.  This  enterprise  excited  con- 
siderable attention,  and  received  liberal  support 

But  the  interest  in  the  recent  explorations  extended  be- 
yond the  supporters  of  missionary  societies.  The  informa- 
tion which  had  been  received  as  to  the  configuration  and 
the  capabilities  of  the  country  only  whetted  the  appetite 
for  more.  Special  stress  was  laid  upon  the  possibility  of 
raising  cotton  in  the  newly  discovered  region.  The 
(rovemment  only  gave  expression  to  the  general  feeling  of 


IKTRODUCnON.  » 

the  public  by  organizing  and  fitting  out  an  expedition,  of 
which  Dr.  Livingstone  agreed  to  take  the  leadership. 
Hoping  to  find  a  suitable  port  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Zambeee  or  elsewhere,  the  Doctor  threw  his  energies  into 
a  scheme  which  had  for  its  object  the  benefit  of  the 
African  as  well  as  the  advantage  of  England.  It  matters 
little  to  a  good  soldier  in  what  regiment  he  fights.  The 
Doctor  had  been  an  explorer  whilst  a  missionary,  and 
when  he  became  an  explorer  no  one  who  knew  him  ima- 
gined that  he  ceased  to  be  a  missionary. 

The  loss,  however,  of  the  experience  and  goidance  of 
Dr.  Livingstone,  at  the  outset  of  their  new  enterprise,  was 
one  which  the  Missionary  Society  could  not  adequately 
supply.  The  local  knowledge  and  the  personal  influence 
which  he  possessed  could  only  be  acquired  by  others  after 
years  of  contact  with  the  natives,  and  would  probably 
never  be  so  great  as  that  of  their  first  ^  white  man,"  the 
friend  of  their  beloved  chief  Sebituane.  In  the  Rev. 
HoUoway  Helmore,  who  was  appointed  to  fill  his  place  as 
leader  of  the  Makololo  Mission,  the  Society  obtained  the 
services  of  one  of  the  most  amiable,  single-hearted,  and 
steadfast  of  men.  But  although  he  had  been  for  seventeen 
years  a  hard-working  and  successful  missionary  at  Likat- 
long,  in  the  southern  part  of  Bechuana-land,  the  country 
to  die  north  had  not  been  visited  by  him ;  and  he  was  a 
perfect  stranger  to  the  Makololo  people.  It  was  however 
announced  by  the  officers  of  the  Missionary  Society  that  Dr. 
Livingstone  had  agreed  to  meet  their  agents  at  Linyanti, 
that  he  would  introduce  them  to  the  chief  and  people,  and 
assist  in  the  negotiations  concerning  the  removal  Of  the 
tribe  from  that  unhealthy  region. 

The  young  missionaries  who  were  selected  for  these  dis- 
tant and  somewhat  difficult  missions  were  Messrs.  Sykes, 
Thomas,  and  John  Mofiat,  for  the  Matebele,  under  Mr» 


INTKODUCriON. 

and  Mr.  Price  and  myself  for  the  Makololo,  under 
more.    And  when  we  embarked  at  Southampton 

1868,  we  were  accompanied  by  gentle  and  trne- 

wive^  who  had  left  happy  homes  for  onr  sakes, 
3,  sharing  onr  desire  to  carry  the  gospel  to  the 

ventured  to  hope  that  they  could  go  where  Mrs. 
one  had  been,  and  reside  where  their  husbands 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE  CAPE  COLONY. 

We  sighted  Table  Mountain  early  on  the  morning  of 
the  13th  July  1858,  after  a  pleasant  voyage  of  some  thirty- 
eight  days.  Kind  Mends  who  were  expecting  us  speedily 
boarded  our  vessel,  and  gave  us  a  very  hearty  welcome  to 
Afiica.  One  of  the  first  of  these  was  the  Rev.  Robert 
Moffat;  and  we  were  delighted  to  meet  a  missionary 
whose  writings  and  whose  life  had  been  familiar  to  us 
from  childhood.    Nor  were  we  alone  in  these  feelings. 

**  Please  to  introduce  me  to  Mr.  Moffieit,"  said  a  fellow- 
passenger  to  me — a  young  officer  proceeding  to  join  his 
regiment.  ^  My  mother  would  be  so  pleased  to  hear  that  I 
had  met  him." 

And  so  we  bade  farewell  to  the  good  ship  *  Athens/  on 
the  conclusion  of  this  its  first  voyage  to  the  Cape.^  Pro- 
ceeding towards  the  shore,  our  attention  was  attracted  by 
the  number  of  flat-roofed  houses ;  the  straight  streets^  the 
**  squareness  "  and  regularity  of  which  contrasted  strongly 
with  the  rugged  and  irregular  mountain  in  the  background. 
As  we  approached  the  pier  our  friends  informed  us  that 
in  the  groups  which  we  saw  there  would  be  found  the 

^  In  the  same  bay,  some  years  after,  dnring  one  of  those  dreadful  storms 
which  periodically  visit  those  shores,  the  '  Athens '  was  wrecked,  and  all  on 
board  perished.  Although  the  vessel  was  no  longer  in  charge  of  the  same 
captain,  we  felt  a  peculiar  regret  when  in  the  interior  we  read  an  account 
of  the  disaster. 


6  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

Malay,  the  Hottentot,  the  Eafiur,  the  Mozambique  negro, 
half-castes  of  all  shades  of  colour,  besides  Europeans  and 
Americans.  Cape  Town  is  indeed  in  a  wider  sense  than 
its  first  founders  could  have  anticipated  a  place  of  refresh- 
ment for  passing  vessels;  and  if  modem  navigation  renders 
this  less  necessary  than  it  was  two  hundred  years  ago,  the 
wants  of  modem  society  at  the  Cape  require  the  services 
of  many  vessels,  and  from  all  parts  of  the  world :  for  the 
trade  is  no  longer  confined  to  brass  wire  and  beads,  in 
exchange  for  cattle  and  sheep,  as  in  the  days  of  Jan  van 
Riebeek,  the  founder  of  Cape  Town. 

We  were  guided  by  the  Rev.  William  Thompson  to  his 
house,  which  was  our  home  for  about  six  weeks.  This 
building  was  then  the  property  of  the  Missionary  Society, 
of  which  Mr.  Thompson  is  the  local  agent ;  and  as  Cape 
Town  is  a  house  of  call  for  ^refreshment  of  passing 
vessels,"  so  was  this  mission-house  a  temporary  home  for 
missionary  voyagers,  whether  outward  or  homeward  bound. 
We  were  a  large  and  very  happy  family.  Indeed,  I  feel 
sure  that  nowhere  in  all  the  dwellings  of  Cape  Town  or 
its  suburbs  were  there  to  be  found  a  more  gracious  host 
and  hostess,  and  nowhere  more  happy  and  joyous  guests 
than  in  the  quiet  mission-house  overlooking  Table  Bay. 
As  for  ourselves,  the  life  which  we  had  chosen  had  b^un 
to  open  up  before  us.  The  past  with  its  crowding  memo- 
ries did  not  on  the  whole  lead  us  to  despond  as  to  the 
future.  The  class-room  had  been  now  exchanged  for  the 
pulpit;  drill  and  review  for  actual  warfare.  And  if  a 
young  man  is  enthusiastic  on  the  reception  of  an  appoint- 
ment which  in  a  certain  number  of  years  will  enable  him 
to  enjoy  independence,  so  were  we  all  enthusiastic  about 
our  appointment  to  the  work  of  evangelist.  Our  office 
and  our  work  linked  us  to  historical  Christianity.  In 
(3od's  providence  His  gospel  was  to  be  introduced  into 


THE  CAPE  COLONY.  T 

certain  Pagan  regions  by  ns.  Those  who  in  one  age  had 
been  martyred,  and  in  another  canonized,  at  first  perse- 
cuted, and  afterwards  endowed  with  lands  and  with  titles, 
were  our  historical  predecessors  in  this  great  work.  Above 
all,  in  our  quiet  moments,  when  our  minds  were  calmed 
and  our  souls  hushed,  a  Presence  stole  upon  us,  and  a  Voice 
addressed  us.  They  seemed  as  of  One  who  had  appeared 
in  Palestine,  and  who  spoke  to  us  through  the  long  ages 
of  the  past;  but  anon  His  words  thrilled  our  hearts  as  fresh 
and  real  utterances  of  the  present :  *'  Preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature ;  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway.  And  I,  if  I  be 
lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  me.'' 

We  had  been  learning  Dutch  on  board  ship,  and  some 
of  us  were  anxious  to  have  a  little  practica  Finding 
myself  alone  one  day  in  Cape  Town,  I  resolved  to  make  a 
commencement,  and  carefully -arranging  my  words  went 
up  to  a  ''person  of  colour,''  and  fired  off  my  question, 
which  was  about  some  street  or  place.  To  my  disgust  the 
man  stared  at  me  in  silence.  He  might  be  deaf;  I  raised 
my  voice,  and  repeated  the  question.  After  some  delay, 
and  in  a  patronizing  tone,  my  dusky  Mend  condescended 
to  address  me  in  English,  and  gave  me  the  information  I 
desired.  When  I  got  home  I  stated  my  case,  and  was  not 
a  little  reassured  when  my  kind  host  informed  me  that  I 
had  made  no  mistake  as  to  words,  while  in  pronunciation 
I  had  followed  only  too  strictly  the  rules  given  in  the 
Grammar,  from  which  South  African  Dutch  has  considerably 
departed,  especiaUy  as  spoken  in  distant  localities.  Dutch- 
men i^esh  from  Holland  are  sometimes  misunderstood,  and 
their  language  mistaken  for  Grerman.  We  were  told  that 
some  preachers  accommodate  themselves  to  this  South 
African  dialect,  which  is  in  use  even  in  the  wealthiest 
families.  We  found  afterwards  that  the  children  of  English 
people  living  in  the  midst  of  a  Dutch  population  learn  the 


8  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

colloquial  Dutch  firom  their  nurses  and  from  other   chil- 
dren— as  Scotch  is  acquired  by  children  north   of  the 
*  Tweedy  no  matter  how  particular  some  mothers  may  be 
that  young  Sandy  should  learn  nothing  but  pure  English. 

In  making  preparations  for  our  journey  into  the  interior, 
we  had  frequent  occasion  to  visit  various  shops  and  places 
of  business  in  Cape  Town.  It  was  then  the  custom  for 
the  Cape  Town  storekeepers,  at  any  rate  those  of  the  old 
school,  to  indulge  in  a  siesta  after  dinner,  which  they 
usually  take  about  noon.  I  made  my  appearance  one  day 
at  a  shop  at  this  sacred  hour,  to  complete  some  purchases, 
and  was  astonished  to  find  everything  shut,  except  one-half 
of  the  adjoining  house-door,  at  which  stood  a  little  black 
girL  In  answer  to  my  demand  for  the  shopkeeper,  this 
sentinel  said,  in  a  low  tone,  ^  Baas  slaap*' — "  The  master  is 
asleep  1 "  I  thought  what  vvH)uld  be  the  result  to  this  easy- 
going man  of  business  were  he  borne  by  genii,  while  asleep, 
and  laid  gently  down  and  left  to  awake  on  London  Bridge 
or  Cheapside  1 

At  the  invitation  of  some  newly-formed  friends,  we  de- 
voted a  day  to  the  ascent  of  Table  Mountain.  A  pleasant 
party  of  some  twelve  or  fourteen  sat  down  to  "  tiffin,"  or 
luncheon  on  the  table-land  at  the  top,  and  beside  a  stream 
of  water.  It  was  thought  by  certain  of  our  number  that 
water  at  such  an  altitude  needed  modifying  by  the  appli- 
cation of  what  is  not  called  ^^ mountain  dew"  in  South 
Africa,  but  ^^Cape  smoke."  It  was  here,  ""and  from  a 
respected  Professor's  flask,  that  I  drank  my  first  and  last 
<<  soepje,"  or  dram  of  Cape  brandy.  I  do  not  at  all  recom- 
mend it.  The  view  from  the  top  of  Table  Mountain  is  one 
which  will  abundantly  repay  the  fatigue  of  the  ascent. 
There  was  the  town  itself  below  us,  with  its  miniature 
streets  and  scarcely  visible  inhabitants.  The  noble  bay, 
with  ships  approaching  or  leaving  the  harbour,  the  rugged 


THE  CAPE  COLONY.  9 

rock-bound  coast  on  the  left,  the  wide  plain  on  the  right, 
bounded  by  blue  mountains  in  the  distance,  gave  us  our 
first  impressions  of  African  scenery. 

We  were  able  also  to  make  acquaintance  with  the  en- 
virons of  Cape  Town,  which  we  found  to  be  very  beautiful. 
At  Gteen  Point  there  are  many  delightful  marine  resid- 
ences, while  on  the  road  to  Simon's  Bay  there  are  villas  and 
villages  of  surpassing  beauty.  At  the  time  of  our  visit, 
gentlemen  in  business  usually  rode  or  drove  into  town 
from  these  places ;  but  more  recently  the  first  South  African 
railway  passes  through  the  villages  in  question,  extending 
through  the  wine-producing  district  as  far  as  the  town  of 
Wellington.  In  his  suburban  residence,  embowered  in 
trees,  with  its  vineyard,  its  orchard,  and  its  garden,  the 
Cape  merchant  lives  amidst  beauty  and  luxuriance  un- 
equalled in  England. 

Preparations  for  our  journey  and  excursions  into  the 
country  were  interspersed  with  exercises  of  another  descrip- 
tion. Intending  to  reside  in  a  country  where  the  man 
would  be  best  served  who  could  help  himself,  we  had  all 
more  or  less  given  attention  to  various  useful  arts  in  Eng- 
land. Knowing  also  that  our  future  residence  would  be 
surrounded  by  wild  beasts,  some  of  us  had  given  a  little 
attention  to  the  use  of  fire-arms ;  but  none  of  our  party 
could  boast  of  much  knowledge  of  such  carnal  weapons  as 
guns  and  rifles.  We  were  anxious  to  remove  this  defect  in 
our  training ;  and  when  we  had  an  hour  to  spare  in  Cape 
Town  resorted  to  the  beach  for  practice.  Now,  it  is  well 
known  to  crack-shots,  but  not  much  thought  of  by  begin- 
ners, that  loading  well  is  necessary  to  shooting  well 

"  Pray  don't  put  in  so  much  powder  at  once,  Mr. ," 

sud  the  son  of  our  host,  then  a  lad  of  eighteen,  to  one  of 
our  number,  who  was  loading  his  gun.  His  only  answer 
was  a  stem  look  of  superior  wisdom,  upon  which  the 


10  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

friendly  adviser  prudently  withdrew  to   some  distance. 

Hearing  a  report,  he  turned  round,  and  beheld  Mr. 

standing  with  nothing  in  his  hand  but  a  bit  of  the  stock 
of  his  gun  1  Happily  he  escaped  unhurt,  which  fact  only 
added  to  his  bewilderment,  as  he  thought  of  the  rest  of  the 
stock,  the  lock,  and  the  barrel,  which  had  all  joined  the 
powder  and  the  shot  in  their  sudden  departure!     This 

striking  lesson  was  not  in  vain.     Mr.  afterwards 

became  a  good  shot,  and  in  the  ordinary  discharge  of  his 
work  as  a  missionary,  has  brought  down  many  an  antelope 
with  his  rifle. 

Our  party  had  the  honour  of  being  presented  to  Sir 
George  Grey,  then  Governor  at  the  Cape,  himself  a  traveller 
and  explorer.  He  expressed  himself  as  interested  in  our 
undertaking,  and  cheered  us  when  taking  leave  by  saying 
that  it  was  not  at  all  impossible,  if  the  country  were  fully 
opened  up  from  the  east  coast,  by  the  efforts  of  Dr.  Living- 
stone and  his  companions,  that  he  might  yet  see  us  at  our 
own  stations  on  the  Zambese.  His  Excellency  was  kind 
enough  to  grant  a  number  of  asses,  to  be  used  by  the 
missionaries  in  the  transmission  of  letters,  etc.,  through  the 
habitat  of  the  tsetse-fly.  Since  1858  a  small  sum  has  also 
been  annuaUy  voted  by  the  Cape  Parliament  for  the  car- 
riage of  letters  between  the  frontier  colonial  town  and 
Kuruman,  which  is  a  great  boon,  not  only  to  missionaries, 
but  to  traders,  travellers,  and  hunters. 

Our  departure  was  hastened  by  the  arrival  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Helmore  by  the  steamer  which  had  followed  us.  The 
oxen  having  been  purchased,  servants  hired,  and  waggons 
made  ready,  Mr.  Moffat  and  his  family  left  first.  About  a 
week  after,  the  young  missionaries  started  under  the  guid- 
ance of  Mr.  Helmore. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  my  first  experiences  of 
waggon  life.     I  congratulated  myself  that,  with  the  assist- 


i 


THE  CAPE  COLONY.  1 1 

ance  of  my  Hottentot  driver  Jan  Sandveld,  and  my  Kaffir 
leader  William  Brown,  I  had  made  everything  comfortable 
for  my  wife's  reception,  especially  as  she  was  then  in  indif- 
ferent health.  Bat  a  waggon  at  rest  and  a  waggon  in 
motion  are  widely  different  things.  This  fact  was  soon 
deeply  impressed  on  my  mind  as  I  beheld  a  leg  of  mutton, 
just  provided  by  onr  kind  hostess,  leave  the  place  where  I 
had  put  it,  and  with  a  loaf  of  bread,  some  oranges,  and 
sundry  other  articles,  join  my  astonished  wife  on  the  kartel 
or  wa^on  conch.  The  whip  cracked,  driver  and  leader 
shouted,  and  away  we  went,  jolting  and  shaking,  on  our 
way  to  the  Zambese ! 

Our  encampment  was  itself  a  small  village.  The  six 
waggons,  when  "  outspanned "  for  the  night,  were  drawn 
near  to  each  other.  The  men  having  finished  their  day's 
duties,  assembled  at  one  of  the  fires,  when  a  violin  was 
produced,  to  the  music  or  at  least  scraping  of  which 
dancing  was  kept  up  till  past  midnight.  We  sometimes 
sat  outside  our  waggons  enjoying  the  bright  African  moon- 
light, and  noticing  the  uncouth  motions  of  the  men,  upon 
whose  grotesque  forms  the  large  camp-fire  cast  its  light. 
Or  when  the  night  was  cold  and  cheerless,  and  nothing 
greeted  the  ear  but  the  distant  barking  of  the  farm-dogs, 
we  fastened  down  the  sails  at  both  ends  of  our  waggon, 
adjusted  our  little  table,  which  was  suspended  from  the 
side  of  the  waggon-tent,  and  lighting  our  candle,  spent  tne 
evening  in  reading  or  in  conversation. 

Our  first  halting-place  after  leaving  Cape  Town  was  at 
Stickland,  which  had  been  a  military  post  under  Sir  James 
Cndg,  the  first  English  governor  of  the  colony.  We  then 
passed  through  the  picturesque  town  of  Paarl,  where  we 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Kolbe,  a  mission- 
ary of  our  Society,  and  pastor  of  a  large  and  self-supporting 
coloured  congregation.     As  we  proceeded  northward,  the 


1 2  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

wild  mountain  scenery  to  which  we  were  introduced  at 
Bain's  Pass  gave  place  to  the  dreary  treeless  and  grassless 
Karroo.  This  arid  region  is  not  however  devoid  of  inter- 
est. Its  bushes  are  more  valuable  to  the  sheep-farmer  than 
grass,  and  two  of  them  supply  an  alkali  which  is  used  ex- 
tensively in  colonial  soap-making.  Many  bright-coloured 
flowers  enlivened  the  dreary  plain — ^the  design  in  the  con- 
struction of  which  the  flowers  themselves  revealed  to  us ; 
for  some,  with  succulent  and  fleshy  stem  and  leaves,  pre- 
served their  beauty  and  freshness  for  some  seven  or  eight 
days,  in  the  heat  of  our  waggon-tent,  and  without  any 
external  application  of  water. 

The  expedition  was  brought  to. a  standstill  in  this  desert 
through  the  failure  of  our  draught-oxen.  One  of  the  cattle- 
dealers  frx)m  whom  the  troop  had  been  purchased  professed 
to  be  a  religious  man,  and  those  who  bargained  with  him 
trusted  to  his  religious  reputation,  and  rejoiced  that  the 
Missionary  Society  had  found  a  friend  among  the  drovers 
and  cattle-dealers.  The  joy  was  premature.  Some  of  the 
high-priced  oxen  were  not  able  to  walk  a  few  miles  to 
the  missionary  camp,  but  died  on  the  road  from  weakness 
or  disease,  and,  although  paid  for,  were  never  really  '^  de- 
livered "  to  their  owners.  Others  died  after  a  few  days' 
march,  and  seven  were  re-sold  to  a  fSarmer  at  20s.  per  head, 
which  was  better  than  nothing.  The  Jews  were  forbidden 
to*  offer  the  sickly  or  the  poor  to  GUxl  in  sacrifice,  but  this 
exemplary  Christian  sold  the  lame  and  the  dying  to  the 
missionaries,  and  all  ^  to  help  on  the  good  cause.*' 

At  Beaufort  West  we  were  able  to  re-equip  ourselves 
for  the  remaining  part  of  our  journey.  We  received  a 
Highland  welcome  from  the  Sev.  Colin  Fraser,  the  respected 
minister  of  the  Dutch  Church.  At  Victoria  West,  where 
we  halted  for  some  days  to  rest  our  oxen,  and  at  Hope 
Town,  which  is  on  the  northern  frontier  of  the  Colony, 


THB  CAPE  COLONY.  13 

and  which  we  reached  in  the  end  of  Novembery  we  were 
received  with  unexpected  hospitality  by  our  own  country- 
men and  by  others,  who  bade  us  also  God-speed  in  the 
great  object  of  our  journey.  Before  crossing  the  Orange 
Kiver,  and  leaving  Her  Majesty's  dominions,  it  may  not  be 
uninteresting  to  give  a  few  sketches  of  rural  and  village  life 
in  the  Cape  Colony. 

The  house  or  "  plaats  "  of  the  Dutch  farmer  is  usually 
built  close  to  his  garden,  and  as  the  latter  must  necessarily 
be  a  tract  of  ground  at  a  lower  elevation  than  the  neigh- 
bouring fountain,  in  order  to  its  irrigation,  the  site  is 
frequently  to  be  admired  neither  for  its  beauty  nor  its 
healthiness.  One  cannot  help  thinking  that  a  good  deal  of 
the  fever  and  rheumatism  of  which  the  Dutch  complain  are 
traceable  to  the  low-lying  situation  of  their  houses.  In  the 
Eastern  Province  fann-houses  are  to  be  seen  built  at  a  great 
elevation,  combining  strength  in  time  of  war,  a  healthful 
atmosphere,  and  a  commanding  prospect.  As  to  architec- 
ture, the  best  houses  of  Dutch  fanners  are  seldom  more 
than  one  storey  in  height,  and  when  they  are,  the  upper 
part  is  often  used  as  a  lumber-loft. 

Proximity  to  a  colonial  fann  in  the  Western  Districts  is 
usually  announced  to  three  senses  some  time  before  your 
arrivaL  The  whitewashed  premises  in  a  flat  and  bare 
country  can  often  be  seen  at  a  great  distance;  then  the 
wind,  if  in  the  right  direction,  brings  to  your  ears  the  loud 
barking  of  some  half-a-dozen  fierce  watch-dogs ;  and  brings 
also  to  your  unaccustomed  nostrils  the  smell  of  the  cow- 
dung  fires,  which  are  here  used  in  villages  and  on  farms  as 
the  only  fuel  Visitors  being  comparatively  rare  in  certain 
districts,  the  approach  of  waggons  is  evidently  an  object  of 
interest  to  the  farmer  and  his  family,  all  of  whom  in  turn 
make  their  observations  as  you  approach.  It  is  said  that 
on  one  occasion  the  sharp  eyes  of  a  fSEumer's  little  son  dis- 


14  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

covered  a  horseman  at  a  considerable  distance,  on  reporting 
which  to  his  father  the  following  conversation  took  place  : — 

"Who  is  it,  my  son)"  said  the  Dutchman,  still  inside 
the  house. 

"  I  don't  know,  pa,"  was  the  reply. 

" Is  het  een  mensch )"  (Is  it  a  man — i.e.,  a  Dutchman  1) 
inquired  M3mheer. 

"  No,  pa,"  said  the  keen-sighted  youth. 

^  Perhaps  it 's  a  Hottentot ) "  suggested  the  fSumer. 

"  No,  pa,"  again  replied  the  son. 

*'  Then  it  must  be  an  Englishman,  my  child,"  said  the 
Dutchman,  as  he  appeared  himself  at  the  door  to  take  an 
observation. 

The  plan  of  farm-house  which  obtains  almost  eveiyndiere 
is  a  very  simple  one.  On  entering  at  the  front  door  you  find 
yourself  in  the  "  voor-huis"  or  front  room.  In  front  of  you, 
if  the  house  is  a  first-class  one,  is  the  "  eet-kamer"  or  dining- 
room  ;  and  beyond  that  the  kitchen,  eta  On  each  side 
of  you  are  the  bedrooms,  which  are  usually  half  the  size  of 
the  parlour.  Such  houses  are  the  property  of  farmers  who 
have  considerable  means,  and  who  are  not  content  with  the 
clay  house  or  the  hartebeest  hut  which  many  others  inhabit. 
There  is  yet  another  class,  who  are  called  "  trek-boers," 
wandering  farmers,  who  live  in  their  waggon  and  tent,  and 
shift  about  from  place  to  place  with  their  fiocks  and  herda 
Many  of  these  people  never  possess  houses,  but  pass  their 
whole  life  in  this  nomadic  manner. 

Our  own  intercourse  with  the  Dutch  farmers  in  the 
colony  was  invariably  of  a  pleasant  description.  We  were 
usually  met  by  a  portly  heavy -visaged  man,  the  master  of 
the  house,  who  silenced  the  dogs  and  extended  his  hand  in 
greeting.  As  we  no  longer  wore  any  article  of  dress  that 
could  be  styled  clerical,  we  were  often  taken  for  ^  smouses," 
or  travelling  dealers.     It  was  amusing  to  see  the  evident 


THE  CAPE  COLONY.  15 

diBappcHntment  when  it  was  known  that  we  were  mission- 
aries, not  pedlars ;  and  that  the  visions  of  showy  prints 
and  ribbons,  of  moleskin  and  "  laken,"  or  black  cloth,  had 
been  prematurely  indolged.  However,  interest  was  at  once 
renewed  when  we  expressed  the  wish  to  buy  a  sheep  or 
goat,  bread,  eggs,  etc.  Cut  tobacco  for  immediate  use  was 
then  offered  by  the  master ;  tea  or  coffee  soon  followed 
from  the  mistress.  The  whole  family  is  innocent  of  stock- 
ings ;  the  young  ones  of  shoes  also.  But  the  old  grand- 
mother, who  is  rather  feeble,  and  sits  in  the  comer  with  snuff- 
box and  handkerchief  in  hand,  and  the  good  lady  of  the 
house,  who  pours  out  your  tea,  make  up  for  the  want  of 
stockings  by  having  each  a  perforated  footstool  which  con- 
tains a  vessel  filled  with  live  charcoal.  In  the  cold  winter 
mornings  this  appliance  is  no  doubt,  as  one  of  our  number 
suggested,  extremely  comfortable.  Coming  from  Scotland, 
the  thought  certainly  did  occur  to  me  that  a  very  little 
trouble  would  suffice  to  put  some  of  the  farmer^s  wool  upon 
the  feet  of  his  household  in  the  shape  of  worsted  stockings. 
I  fancy,  however,  Jufvrouw  would  prefer  the  charcoal 
"komfoor"  to  a  spinning-wheeL 

But  it  is  when  you  arrive  at  a  Dutch  farm  on  horseback, 
and  are  requested  to  ^  off-saddle,"  and  stay  over  night,  that 
you  can  see  Dutch  hospitality  and  manners  to  perfection. 
The  Dutchman  speaks  about  his  fSarm  and  his  stock ;  the 
lady  inquires  your  age,  how  long  you  have  been  married, 
and  how  many  children  you  have. 

**  But  is  England  really  as  beautiM  as  this )"  said  a  good 
Dutch  housemother,  as  surrounded  by  her  daughters,  we 
stood  gazing  upon  one  of  the  most  dreary  of  colonial 
scenes.  When  I  had  exhausted  my  Dutch  in  describing 
the  rivers,  streams,  and  fountains,  the  enclosed  fields,  the 
numerous  farmhouses  of  England,  I  am  afraid  my  picture 
was  regarded  as  overdrawn. 


IG  NORTH  OF  THB  ORANGE  RIVER. 

The  washing  of  the  hands  of  the  whole  company  by  a 
servant  girl  is  still  kept  up  in  most  households.  Then 
comes  supper,  which  is  just  a  second  edition  of  breakfiEut, 
these  being  the  only  meals  in  ordinary  Dutch  households. 
Stewed  meat  cut  into  small  pieces  is  served  in  a  large  dish, 
out  of  which  each  person  helps  himsel£  Very  seldom  have 
I  seen  vegetables  served  with  meat ;  the  latter  is  usually 
eaten  alone,  or  occasionally  with  bread  or  rice.  Soup  with 
flour-dumplings  sometimes  follows  the  meat  The  Dutch 
farmers  do  not  usually  eat  potatoes ;.  I  have  heard  ^  potato- 
eater"  employed  by  them  as  a  contemptuous  term  for  an 
Englishman  1 

After  supper,  in  a  respectable  household,  and  before  B&par 
rating  for  the  night,  the  house-father  asks  for  "  the  books.^ 
Accordingly  a  very  large  Bible  and  copies  of  the  Dutch 
metrical  Psalms  and  Hymns  are  produced  and  laid  on  the 
table.  They  have  the  peculiar  custom  of  ringing  a  ringle 
verse  of  several  psalms  or  hymns,  rather  than  several 
verses  of  one  psahn.  Then  a  chapter  of  sacred  Scripture  is 
read,  and  afterwards 

"  The  saint,  the  father,  and  the  husband  prays.** 

There  is  no  phase  of  colonial  character  on  which  I  would  so 
willingly  linger,  as  there  is  none  which  so  excites  my  ad- 
miration, as  this  simple  family  worship  offered  daily  in 
many  a  secluded  glen  and  isolated  homestead  throughout 
the  Cape  Colony.  Such  reverent  worship  moulds  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  young  who  grow  up  to  take 
part  in  it ;  and  if  the  Dutch  colonist  has  not  himself  been 
able  to  teach  his  children  many  of  those  branches  which 
are  elsewhere  regarded  as  indispensable  to  a  rudimentary 
education,  he  impresses  on  their  mind  the  all  but  exclusive 
importance  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Word  of  GkxL 
Despite  the  wide  difference  in  the  character  and  genius 


^1^ 


THE  CAPE  COLONY.  1 7 

of  the  two  peoples,  I  confess  that  these  acts  of  family  de- 
votion brought  vividly  to  my  mind  similar  gatherings  in  Scot- 
land, which  are  happily  more  characteristic  of  that  country 
now  than  when  Bums  penned  his  ''Cottar's  Saturday 
Night."  But  there  is  one  point  of  difference  which  at  once 
strikes  the  stranger.  In  the  colonial  farmhouse  no  servant 
is  ever  present  at  worship.  The  Dutchman  confines  the 
thanksgiving  and  the  praying  to  his  own  family  and  white 
visitors;  the  servants  who  at  the  hour  of  prayer  throng 
the  large  kitchen  or  parlour  of  a  God-fearing  English  or 
Scottish  farmer,  are  nowhere  to  be  found  here  at  family 
worship.  K  the  poor  creatures  do  listen  to  the  Divine 
words,  and  hear  also  the  earnest  prayer,  it  is  necessarily  at 
a  distance. 

I  hope  that  in  some  cases  this  prejudice  is  breaking 
down.  It  is  of  importance  not  only  to  the  coloured  people, 
but  to  the  Dutchmen  themselves,  whose  Christianity  is 
disfigured  by  this  unworthy  feeling.  By  establishing  a 
mission  of  their  own  among  the  heathen  in  the  interior,  as 
well  as  by  their  liberal  aid  to  village  missions  throughout 
the  Colony,  the  members  of  the  Dutch  Church  already 
give  evidence  of  entertaining  such  opinions  and  feelings  as 
ahaQ  infallibly  lead,  in  the  course  of  time,  to  happier  and 
worthier  relations  between  themselves  and  their  depend- 
ants in  their  own  households.  In  distant  and  secluded 
districts  it  is  at  present  the  custom  for  the  farmers  to 
meet  for  worship  on  Sunday  in  the  house  of  an  office- 
bearer of  the  church,  who  has  the  spiritual  oversight  of 
his  neighbours  intrusted  to  him.  Were  these  worthy 
elders  to  have  a  second  service  for  the  servants  of  all 
colours  who  reside  on  their  farms,  a  home  mission  work  of 
a  very  important  kind  might  be  carried  on  throughout  the 
Colony — ^the  ramifications  of  which  would  reach  its  most 
secluded  glen. 

B 


NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

rerencing  the  whole  Bible,  the  Dutch  cdonist  is 
i&lly  familiu  with  the  Old  Teetainent.  He  ie  indeed 
J  to  the  Book  of  Bevelation,  because  he  inherits  tmm 
irefathen  a  horror  of  Bomao  CathoIiciBm,  whidi  is 
y  peniung,  in  the  last  book  of  Scriptute,  the  visioua 
B  deeds  and  the  doom  of  Antichrist.  I  was  eor- 
1  not  to  meet  with  a  translation  of  some  of  Dr. 
ling's  works  in  Dutch  fiuniliee.  His  writings  on 
7  would  nowhere  meet  with  more  sympathetic 
rs  than  among  the  Dutch  colonists  at  the  Cape ! 
e  colonial  villages  or  towns— as  some  of  Urnn  may 
be  properly  termed — have  osuaUy  grown  up  round 
titch  Church  as  a  nndeus ;  and  it  has  been  remarked 
Jiese  church  or  town  sites  had  been  chosen  with  great 
by  the  Dutch  colonists.     I  have  come  into  contact 

those  who  had  seen  the  growth  of  considersble 
es  from  the  solitary  farm-house  of  the  first  owner. 
Km  as  the  church  is  built,  there  is  no  doubt  as  to  a 
Q  amount  of  business  being  done  where  it  stands. 
*  Nachtmaal,"  or  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  by 
■utoh  Church,  takes  place  seTeral  times  in  a  year,  and 
i  to  the  church  almost  the  whole  population  of  ths 
inding  district.  Irreverent  men  draw  attention  to 
a  pointe  of  resemblance  between  the  Nachtmaal  in 
1  Africa  and  the  Scottish  scene  which  has  been 
.bed,  or  perhaps  caricatured,  by  Bums  in  his  "  Holy 
'  The  Nachtmaal  is  looked  forward  to  with  equal 
!st  by  the  inhabitants  of  both  town  and  country.  In 
>rmer,  the  shops  are  overhauled,  and  goods  long  ago 
ed  sie  anxiou^y  looked  for.  Clerks  and  shopmen  an 
ng  on  the  coast ;  waj^ons  are  journeying  day  and 

along  the  road ;  and  everybody,  down  to  the  little 
boy  who  leads  the  oxen,  would  give  ae  the  reason 
.  this  anxiety,  that  it  is  "  Nachtmaal "  at  a  certain 


THE  CAPE  COLONY.  19 

date  in  their  village;  and  their  waggons  must  be  forth- 
coming before  that  time.  In  the  country  the  excitement 
is  of  a  varied  description,  and  reaches  eveiy  household. 
The  good  man  rejoices  that  he  will  soon  be  called  upon  to 
go  up  to  the  house  of  the  Lord  with  the  multitude  that 
keep  holy  day.  Nor  is  he  forgetful  of  debts  which  fJEtU  due 
to  hiin  during  the  Nachtmaal  week ;  while  he  has  a  whole 
load  of  fcum-produce  prepared  to  clear  up  Ms  own  account 
with  the  storekeeper.  His  partner  in  life  has  her  own 
responsibilities  at  this  time.  In  one  family  there  may  be 
children  for  baptism;  children  for  '* aanneming,"  or 
admission  to  church-membership,  and  children  who  are 
now  men  and  women  who  are  going  to  be  married.  The 
family  leave  the  farm  early  on  the  week  preceding  the 
Nachtmaal  Sunday,  on  their  way  to  the  village.  The 
waggon  may  be  a  smartly-painted  one  kept  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  drawn  by  ten  horses,  the  reins  of  which  are 
held  by  one  man,  whilst  a  whip  is  wielded  when  necessary 
by  another  seated  beside  him.  But  if  the  flEunily  is  poorer, 
their  journey  is  performed  at  the  slower  pace  of  oxen. 
Each  waggon  has  a  fskbulous  number  of  occupants;  but 
once  in  the  village,  wealthy  farmers  repair  at  once  to  their 
**  town  house ;"  whilst  poorer  men  pitch  their  tents  beside 
their  waggons.  When  all  is  done,  however,  the  accommo- 
dation, as  might  be  expected,  is  somewhat  scanty  for  the 
large  and  promiscuous  gathering.  But  as  no  genuine 
Dutch  colonist  ever  thinks  of  undressing  before  going  to 
bed,^  he  is  iu  no  way  incommoded  by  his  overflowing 
household.  Temporal  and  spiritual  engagements  now 
fully  occupy  general  attention.  The  fanner  reverently 
appears  in  his  place  in  church ;  and  in  the  store  also  he 

^  I  bave  lieard  a  Dntch  hunter  describe  a  new  aniyal  from  Europe  as 
ttUl  having  much  to  learn, — "  for/'  said  he,  ''  the  fellow  undresses  every 
night  in  his  waggon  ! " 


10  MOBTH  OF  THB  OBAUGE  RITEIt. 

legotiates  concerning  corn  or  wool,  or  sMns  or  leather, 
rith  perhaps  a  few  ostricli  feathers,  whicli  he  haa  brought 
or  sale.  His  wife  has  brought  butter,  soap,  and  cheese, 
le  is  persnaded  that  he  needs  a  new  hat,  and  selects  one 
rith  enormous  brim ;  Sunday  clothes  are  next  bought,  of  a 
ut  and  texture  which  the  dealer  is  careful  to  have  on 
land.  Then  pieces  of  coarser  material  for  every-day  wear 
ire  selected,  to  be  made  on  the  farm  by  his  wife  and 
laughters,  according  to  a  fashion  which  seems  never  to 
ihange.  Scented  enuff  must  not  be  forgotten;  and  a 
ceg  of  strong  waters  is  also  quietly  conveyed  to  the 
v&ggon — frequently  a  present  from  the  storekeeper  on 
■eceiving  payment  of  the  farmer's  accounL  Then  the 
adies,  young  and  old,  who  have  baptism  and  marriage  and 
ihurching  before  them,  require  very  many  thin^  which 
hey  find  the  careful  storekeeper  has  provided;  and  of 
x>aiBe  both  wives  and  husbands  buy  twice  as  much  as 
Jiey  intended. 

"  Any  fooV  said  an  outspoken  storekeeper  to  his  aaaist- 
into,'' can  sell  these  people  what  they  want ;  our  aim  is  to 
[oake  them  buy  also  what  they  don't  want." 

Accordingly  new  fashions  in  harness,  fire-arms,  horse- 
jarts,  household  iUmiture,  etc,  are  shown  and  extolled  by 
the  dealer ;  and,  it  is  said,  the  farmer  on  reaching  home 
tHar  the  Nacbtmaal  frequently  finds  articles  in  his  pos- 
session of  the  proper  use  of  which  he  has  not  the  slightest  ' 
idea.  There  is  a  peculiar  trait  of  character  brought  out 
in  connection  with  Dutch  colonial  diopping  at  these 
Nachtmaal  times,  which  I  have  been  repeatedly  assured  is 
not  confined  to  one  village  or  to  one  state.  And  as  this 
foible  is  well  known  to  the  storekeepers,  so  is  its  pecu- 
liar treatment  invariably  the  same.  It  would  seem  that 
one  of  the  injunctions  which  a  shopman  newly  arrived 
from  Europe  receives  fix>m  his  master,  as  Nachtmaal-time 


THE  CAPE  COLONY.  21 

approaches,  is  to  keep  a  sharp  look-out  on  little  articles 
lying  about  the  counter,  "  which  are  apt,"  says  the  owner 
of  the  shop,  "  to  find  their  way  into  the  pockets  of  cus- 
tomers without  the  formality  of  purchase." 

"  Leave  me  alone  to  pounce  on  them,"  says  the  unini- 
tiated European ;  "  I'm  up  to  all  that  sort  of  thing ;  I 
guarantee  that  not  one  shall  escape  me.  I  shall  march 
them  off  to  the  station  as  fast  as  they  attempt  anything  of 
the  sort  where  I  am." 

"Not  so  fast>"  answers  his  instructor;  "we  don't  do 
things  in  that  way  here.  My  customers  don't  steal ;  you 
must  never  use  the  word ;  they  merely  put  things  away 
without  ascertaining  their  price.  This  is  not  kleptomania 
either;  it  is  a  purely  South  African  phenomenon,  and  to 
be  met  in  a  South  African  manner." 

"  And  pray  how  is  that  1" 

"  When  you  discover  that  one  of  your  customers  has 
thus  appropriated  a  certain  article,  do  not  appear  to  take  any 
notice  whatever  of  the  transaction ;  but  at  the  first  oppor- 
tunity add  the  article  abstracted  to  the  orders  in  that  cus- 
tomer's account." 

**  But  will  he  pay  it  1"  asks  the  astonished  assistant. 

"  Of  course  he  will.  I  never  had  any  difficulty  myself 
on  this  score ;  and  I  never  heard  that  elsewhere  this  plan 
had  been  unsuccessful.  At  the  same  time,  I  am  not  aware 
that  the  custom  is  given  up  by  those  who  are  thus  dealt 
with." 

And  behind  the  counter  of  the  colonial  store,  business 
is  sometimes  conducted  in  disregard  of  what  are  accepted 
as  first  principles  elsewhere.  If  Cape  wool  is  inferior  to 
Australian  in  the  English  market,  commercial  men  of  a 
certain  class  are  content  that  it  should  be  so.  It  is  a  fact 
that  an  enterprising  English  sheep-farmer  in  the  Gape 
Colony  was  recently  discouraged  from  washing  his  wool 


SOaTU  OF  THE  OEANGE  BIVEB. 

the  nearest  village  dealer,  who  candidl}'  told  him  that 
iras  not  in  a  position  to  go  beyond  the  current  price, 
rerer  well  his  bales  mif^t  be  got  up.  The  easf-going 
tcbmen,  who  do  not  read  newspapers,  take  do  thought 
mt  being  outstripped  by  Australia  in  the  supply  of 
ol  for  the  Eoglish  market.  Accustomed  but  a  few  years 
on  to  the  laige-tailed  AJHcan  breed  of  sheep,  which 
)  of  no  ralue  except  for  slaughter,  the  Dutchman  ts 
lerally  pleased  to  shear  his  sheep,  and  pack  the  wool 

0  bales  as  beat  he  can,  and  take  it  to  the  "  dorp "  for. 
1.  As  most  of  the  price  would  be  "  taken  out "  in  mer- 
udise,  the  storekeeper  humours  the  wool-seller  by 
ing  him  a  nominally  high  price  for  his  wool,  which  is 
in  neutralized  by  the  proportionately  high  prices  of  his 
rchandise.  In  this  way,  the  nominal  price  of  wool  in 
atier  districts  is  sometimes  higher  than  at  the  sea- 
at  I  Dimly  surmising  that  there  was  something  nnstHind 
the  dealings  of  the  village  storekeeper  with  whom  they 
years  transacted  business,  it  occurred  recently  to  some 
mors  in  the  interior  of  the  colony  that  they  might  them- 
res  convey  their  own  wool  to  the  sea-coast,  where,  of 
i^a,  the  behest  price  ought  to  be  obt^ed — accom- 
ded  with  the  cheapest  merchandise.     This  journey  is 

1  attended  with  much  expense,  and  the  farmer  can  take 
family  with  him,  who  have  never  seen  the  sea,  and 

o  venture  on  board  a  ship  as  a  most  daring  feat.  When 
is  some  mUes  &om  the  sea-port  town,  he  unyokes  to 
ke  all  due  preparation.  When  about  to  proceed  on  his 
mey  next  moniing,  an  incident  occurs  which  the  fermer 
at  fint  inclined  to  regard  as  one  of  the  most  fortunate 
ints  in  his  life.  A  neatly-dressed  young  man  rides  up 
his  encampment,  and  after  the  most  cordial  salutations 
kes  it  known  that  being  out  for  an  early  ride  for  the 
tefit  of  his  health,  he  saw  the  wool-waggons,  and  as  his 


THE  CAPE  gOLONY.  23 

employer  is  a  large  purchaser  of  wool,  he  thought  he  could 
be  of  real  service  to  a  stranger,  and  guide  him  at  once 
tiirough  the  confusing  streets  to  a  commodious  yard  which 
had  every  convenience,  and  where  he  might  stay  as  long  as 
he  liked,  and  regard  himself  as  at  home.  This  seems 
equally  wonderfiil  and  acceptable ;  but  whilst  the  farmer  is 
profusely  thanking  his  generous  friend,  he  perceives  several 
horsemen  approaching  his  waggon,  who  are  apparently 
running  a  race.  They  dismount,  one  after  the  other ;  and 
never  were  more  hospitable  and  disinterested  offers  made 
than  each  now  tenders  to  the  bewildered  countiyman.  The 
explanation  is,  that  in  the  *'wool  season"  many  of  the 
wool-dealers  in  the  searport  towns  appoint  one  of  their 
assistants,  who,  besides  other  acquirements,  must  be  a  good 
horseman,  to  ^look  after''  all  wool-waggons  and  bring 
them,  if  possible,  to  his  master's  yard.  Once  there,  it  is 
supposed  to  be  more  than  likely  that  his  host  wiQ  be  able 
to  buy  the  &rmer^s  wool  It  is  said  that  one  visit  has 
been  enough  for  some  of  these  fjEirmers.  Others,  again, 
persevere  in  what  is  certainly  the  practical  carrying  out  of 
a  commercial  axiom — ^to  sell  in  the  dearest  market  and  buy 
in  the  dieapest  But  the  farmers'  children,  who  know  the 
English  language  and  have  received  a  fair  education,  are 
likely  to  conduct  wool-selling  in  a  somewhat  different  manner 
from  their  fathers.  When  the  Cape  wool-grower  is  no 
longer  ignorant  and  careless,  certain  nondescript  methods 
of  business  will  cease  to  pay.  Cape  wool  is  likely  to  rise 
in  the  market  with  the  education  of  the  Cape  colonists. 

But  to  return  to  the  inland  village  during  Nachtmaal- 
time.  The  village,  which  has  all  the  appearance  of  a  fair 
daring  the  week,  decently  puts  up  its  shutters  on  the 
Sunday,  and  is  supposed  to  be  at  churcL  Those  who  are 
not  remarkable  for  a  church-going  habit  join  the  crowd  on 
the  Nachtmaal  Sunday.    Some  time  ago,  a  little  black  boy 


NORTH  OF  THE  ORAMGE  BIVXR. 

een  bending  his  way  toward  a  certain  village  churcli, 
ing  on  hie  shoulder  or  bead  an  enormously  large  Dutch 
,  flaring  with  gilding  and  ahowy  binding.  Behind  him 
f  walked  a  certain  dealer,  whose  face  bore  an  expreeeion 
il  or  aasnmed  aolemnity.  Meeting  an  acquaintance, 
mysterious  features  were  for  a  moment  relaxed ;  aod, 
g  bis  Boy  and  Bible  before  him,  he  whispered,  "  Wat 
m  menech  niet  toot  geld  doen  1 "  which  may  be  fireely 
ired  in  English,  "  All  in  the  way  of  business." 
.  entering  a  Dutch  chnrch  you  are  Btrnck  with  the 
r  frames,  the  large  heads,  and  open  countenances  of 
fellow-worshipperB.  And  if  you  do  not  come  in  a 
)UB  spirit,  yon  cannot  but  be  impressed  with  the  deep 
ence  and  apparently  true  devotion  of  the  worshippers, 
listen  with  close  attention  to  the  instructive  discourse, 
irnest  appeal,  the  solemn  warning,  the  tender  invita- 
iddressed  to  them  by  the  able  ministers  who  lead  their 
lions.  And  then  they  pledge  themselves  to  be  the 
s  at  H'B  table,  after  the  impressive  order  of  their 
h.  The  children  look  on  with  awe-stmck  gaze,  and 
bated  breath.  The  Saviour  is  indeed  "  remembered  " 
uiy  of  the  young  and  old  at  those  Nachtma^  services. 
Dutch  families  it  is  customary  for  the  young  people 
publicly  received  (aangenomen)  into  the  church  before 
age.  So  far  as  I  can  anderstand,  the  course  to  matri- 
'  runs  very  smoothly  and  with  great  regularity  ia 
regions.  The  volcanoes  of  feeling,  the  blAck  depths 
ipair,  the  wasting  away  of  man  or  woman  disappointed 
iglected  in  love,  are  things  beyond  the  conception  of 
oung  men  and  maidens  of  South  Africa.  They  are 
l)eHereTs  in  the  adage  that  "  there  are  aa  good  fish  in 
ea  as  ever  came  out  of  it."  And  as  to  remaining 
jried,  on  any  account,  the  thing  is  unknown,  &om 
ea-coast  to  the  most  inland  Dutch  district.     Young 


THE  CAPE  COLONY.  25 

Dutchmen  get  wives  with  the  same  regularity  as  they  get 
their  wisdom-teeth;   and  they  usually  have  the  former, 
with  several  children,  before  the  latter  make  their  appear- 
ance.    After  the  consent   of  old  and    young  has  been 
obtained  there  is  still,  however,  one  obstacle  between  the 
yonth  and  the  consummation  of  his  domestic  happiness. 
It  would  not  be  "  the  correct  thing  "  to  marry  before  being 
**  aangenomen,"  and  in   order  to  this  he  must  pass  an 
examination  before  the  predikant  or  minister.     It  will  be 
readily  perceived  that    motives   of  a  mingled  character 
stimulate  the  youthful  mind  to  diligence  at  this  interesting 
and  critical  period  of  his  life.     The  ordeal  itself,  indeed, 
is  one  which  very  small  boys  at  a  Scottish  parish  school 
would  think  lightly  of.     But  our  South  African  candidate 
for  church-fellowship  and  for  matrimony  looks  upon  this 
examination    as  a  great  bugbear.      Sometimes,    indeed, 
candidates  are  rejected,  which  one  would  think  must  be 
very  trying  to  the  young  lady  who  has  not  been  won,  and 
to  the  thick-headed  young  man  himself,  who  perhaps  too 
often  saw  wandering  over  the  pages  of  his  catechism  his 
betrothed  in  bridal  array,  followed  by  the  flock  of  sheep 
which  was  to  be  her  dowry.     Those  whose  parents  can 
afford  the  paltry  salary  secure  the  services  of  a  "  meester," 
or  family  tutor,  who,  on  closer  acquaintance,  turns  out  to 
be  an  old  pensioner,  or  a  disabled  Scotch  mason,  or  a  Ger- 
man, who  speaks  confidentially  of  having  seen  better  days. 
While  teaching  all  the  children  with  regularity,  special 
care  is  of  course  given  and  expected  in  the  case  of  those 
who  may  be  about  to  apply  for  admission  to  the  church,  and 
who  are  already  betrothed.     When  mentioning  a  teacher's 
qualifications,  a  Dutchman  will  never  fail  to  give  pro- 
minence to  his  success  in   "coaching"  for  this   critical 
occasion.     "  He  is  a  capital  teacher;  not  one  of  his  pupils 
was  ever  rejected  by  the  predikant." 


NOETH  OF  THE  ORANGE  BIVER. 

ling  ourselves  agents  of  a  Society  whose  iundamental 
iple  is  simply  to  evangelize  and  not  to  inculcate  anj 

of  church-goTenunent,  and  whose  agents  themselves, 
)int  of  fact,  belong  to  different  Churches — we  were 
ed  to  b«  invited  to  mingle  with  different  religions 
innities  in  the  Cape  Colony.  Instead  of  passing  harsh 
hasty  judgment  on  what  we  saw,  ve  endeaToured  to 
e  instruction  from  a  study  of  the  different  modes  of 
aplishing  the  same  end,  the  different  names  for  vir- 
r  the  same  ofBce  or  person,  the  different  phases  of 
itian  life  among  the  calm  and  reticent  as  well  as  the 
instrative  and  outspoken.  The  true  evangelist  is  the 
lest  churchman,  the  most  generous  and  charitable  critic. 
6  views  have  only  been  deepened  and  strengthened  by 
n  years'  work.     It  is  a  source  of  mach  gratification  to 

upon  the  energetic  and  successful  efforts  of  these 
ial  Churches. 

le  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  with  her  able  ministers  and 
bed  congregations  of  wealthy  and  influential  colonists, 
J  be  only  true  to  herself,  is  destined  to  take  the  lead 
rery  Christian  work  in  South  Africa.  The  Episcopal 
ch,  under  the  spirited  and  far-reaching  oversight  of 
)p  Gray,  has  recently  extended  its  influence  throughout 
xilony,  and  beyond  it.     With  its  recently  organized 

Bjrnod  to  aid  the  bishops  or  oreraeerB  in  the  admini- 
lon  of  the  church's  affairs,  and  with  its  hold  upon  the 
ion  of  many  Englishmen  throughout  the  colony,  the 
li  African  Episcopal  Church,  like  its  American  and 
ndian  sisters,  is  entering  upon  a  noble  and  nsefnl 
r.  The  Wesleyans  are  the  same  everywhere.  No 
mination   occupies  fresh  ground  in  colonial  villages 

such  promptness  as  the  Methodists.  Their  well- 
lized  staff  of  local  preachers  do  not  confine  their  efforts 
eir  own  countrymen.     Much  of  the  Ghriatiao  life  of 


THE  CAPE  COLONY.  27 

the  Eastern  Province  is  connected  with  Methodism,  which 
is  indeed  the  predominating  church  in  that  important 
district.  An  Evangelical  Union  has  recently  been  formed 
in  the  colony,  consisting  of  Presbyterian  and  Congregational 
ministers.  Hitherto  this  Union  has  answered  its  purpose, 
and  is  perhaps  destined  to  teach  the  churches  of  the  same 
order  in  England  and  Scotland  the  wonderfully  weighty 
lesson,  that  it  is  possible  for  a  church  with  three  classes  of 
o£Bce-bearers  to  be  associated  with  a  neighbouring  church 
which  has  only  two.  The  London  Missionary  Society, 
rejoicing  in  the  energetic  action  of  those  colonial  churches, 
resolves  in  the  meantime  to  direct  her  chief  attention  to 
the  pagan  ^  regions  beyond."  The  churches  in  the  colony 
will  cany  on  and  extend  as  a  Home  Mission  work  what 
Christian  people  in  England  have  for  years  sustained  as  a 
mission  to  the  heathen  abroad. 


r  BECHUANA  LA14D. 

Get  in  towards  the  east,  where 
rs  have  their  sources,  we  were 
wn  to  proceed  westward  before 
ed  the  point  of  their  conflueDce. 
lugh  we  might  cross  the  Orange 
little  trouble,  we  were  likelj'  to 

filling  of  the  YaaL  The  most 
was  to  cross  both  rivers  at  once, 
lot  only  to  unload  our  waggons, 

in  order  to  place  the  parts  in 
as  well  we  acted  on  this  advice, 
kd  crossed  the  Orange  river  at 
ect  for  his  station  of  Likatlong, 
lis  own  house  for  more  thana 

Vaa]  subsided  so  as  to  permit 
3.  Being  a  good  swimmer,  Mr. 
regularly  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
ut  this  detention  was  an  unwel- 
}  life  to  Mrs.  Helmore  and  the 

boat  by  which  Mr.  Price  and  I 

"as  A  Dutdi  farmer,  whose  house 

It  took  nearly  the  whole  day 

)f  the  two  waggons  with  their 


FIRST  YEAR  IN  BECH0ANA  LAND..  29 

loads,  the  river  being  here  more  than  300  yards  broad, 
and  flowing  very  rapidly.  Mrs.  Price  and  Mrs.  Mackenzie 
were  deprived  for  the  day  of  the  shelter  of  their  waggons, 
and  had  to  make  the  most  of  the  shade  of  some  willow  and 
thorn  trees,  which  abound  on  the  banks  of  the  river.  The 
son  was  setting  when  everything  was  again  in  its  place, 
and  the  oxen  were  brought  to  pull  the  waggons  to  a  safer 
place  of  encampment,  which  would  also  be  suitable  for  the 
approaching  day  of  rest.  But  the  work  of  that  Saturday 
was  not  yet  over.  Although  the  Dutchman  had  given 
minute  directions  to  my  driver  as  to  the  course  he  ought 
to  take  in  ascending  the  bank  of  the  river,  I  had  not  suffi- 
cient confidence  in  the  position  of  affairs  to  consent  to  my 
wife's  reoccupying  the  waggon  until  we  had  ascended  to 
level  ground.  I  noticed  with  some  uneasiness  that  the 
river  was  constantly  rising,  and  that  the  waters  now 
reached  the  place  where  my  waggon  stood.  The  oxen 
were  yoked,  and  the  word  was  given  by  the  driver  to  go 
on.  What  was  my  dismay  to  see  that  as  soon  as  the 
waggon  moved  forward  the  wheels  next  the  river  sunk 
deeper  and  deeper  in  the  moist  sand,  and  before  any  change 
of  course  could  be  suggested  the  waggon  and  its  contents 
had  fallen  over  into  the  river!  It  was  no  time  for  specula- 
tion. We  stripped  at  once,  and  by  dint  of  great  exertion 
had  emptied  the  waggon  of  its  contents  in  ten  minutes, 
and  placed  the  articles  high  and  dry  on  the  bank.  We 
succeeded  also  in  raising  the  waggon  on  its  wheels  again. 
Thoroughly  exhausted  with  the  labours  of  the  day,  as  well 
as  out  recent  exertions  in  the  water,  we  now  improvised  a 
place  of  rest  for  the  night.  Next  morning  we  found  that 
one  side  of  the  waggon  tent  had  been  broken  by  the  fall, 
that  some  provisions  were  slightly  damaged,  and  that  a 
few  of  our  books  had  also  been  reached  by  the  water. 
Our  property  had  been  saved  from  further  damage  by  the 


NORTH  OF  THE  OEAJJGE  KIVER. 

mptneas  with  which  it  had  been  removed  &om  the 
ifsr.  The  fenTman  paid  ub  a  visit  in  the  coarse  of 
iday  forenoon;  and  it  was  edifying  to  witness  the 
ability  and  apparent  earnestness  with  which  he  scolded 

driver  for  taking  the  coarse  which  he  himself  had  re- 
imended  the  night  before  I 

Uter  travelling  over  a  stony  and  nnintereating  tract  of 
ntryj  we  came  to  (rriqna  Town,  a  station  nsnally  SDp- 
)d  with  two  missionaries,  but  then  under  the  care  of 
.  Hughes^  of  the  London  Missionary  Society. 
nTe  had  heard  in  the  colony  of  a  war  between  the  Dntch 
abitants  of  the  Transvaal  Republic  and  the  Batlaping  tribe 
abiting  the  country  in  which   Knmman   is  situated. 

Hope  Town  and  Griqna  Town  we  were  told  that  the 
tch  were  abont  to  follow  up  the  advantf^  which  they 
1  gained,  and  occupy  Euruman.  My  fellow-traveller 
.  Price,  and  myself^  resolved  to  test  the  tmth  of  those 
lOtts,  and  accordingly  started  for  Kuruman  on  horseback, 
I  distance  being  about  100  miles.  We  reached  DanieTs 
111  the  first  night,  where  we  were  hospitably  entertained 
the  two  chief  men  of  the  hamlet.  The  next  day  being 
oday,  we  attended  the  service,  which  was  conducted  in 
tch  by  the  deacon  or  village  schoolmaster,  who,  by  the 
y,  was  the  son  of  a  former  missionary  at  Griqua  Town, 

0  had  married  a  Griqua,  It  was  late  on  Monday  night 
ore  we  reached  Euruman ;  but  we  were  delisted  with 

1  appearance  of  the  counby  in  the  bright  moonlight — ^the 
im-trees  on  both  sides  of  the  road  near  Euruman  re- 
nding ns  of  the  grounds  of  a  conntry-hooae  in  England. 
I  approaching  the  station  we  found  everything  in  pro- 
indest  stillness ;    the   little  village  was   asleep.      Onr 

Aibr  fortf-Beren  yean'  diligent  ftod  naint«rnipted  Berricc,  Utterly  u 
OTersear  of  asTeral  native  cbnrcLea,  thU  adminiljle  misaionftry  di«d  at 
post  in  IS70. 


FIRST  YEAR  IN  BECHUANA  LAND.  31 

knocking  however  soon  roused  Mr.  Moffat^  who  gave  his 
unexpected  visitors  a  joyous  welcome  to  his  South  AMcan 
home^  which  was  repeated  by  his  family,  and,  in  the  mom- 
ii%i  ^  Mr.  Ashton,  his  colleague.  The  latter  gentleman 
had  been  resident  at  Euruman  during  the  disturbance  be- 
tween the  Dutchmen  and  Batlaping,  and  had  visited  the 
scene  of  the  fight  after  it  took  place,  with  a  view  to  miti- 
gate the  sufferings  of  the  wounded.  Both  Mr.  Moffat  and 
Mr.  Ashton  expected  that  the  Dutchmen  would  renew  the 
attack ;  and  both  were  quite  sure  that  hostilities  would  not 
be  resumed  before  May.  This  was  explained  to  us  to  be 
on  account  of  a  deadly  disease  which  prevails  in  the 
summer  months  among  the  horses,  and  causes  their  re- 
moval to  certain  elevated  regions,  where  experience  has 
shown  they  can  live  in  safety.  As  a  Dutchman  never  goes 
to  war  on  foot,  it  was  held  certain  that  no  resumption  of 
hostilities  would  take  place  until  May,  when  the  horses 
might  with  safety  be  brought  down  into  the  lowlands. 
Satisfied  with  the  result  of  our  visit,  we  returned  to  Griqua 
Town  for  our  waggons.  Our  weary  journey  from  Cape 
Town  to  Euruman  ended  with  the  year  1858;  and  the 
new  year  brought  with  it  new  scenes  and  new  duties. 

When  we  contemplated  the  last  stage  of  our  journey 
— ^from  Euruman  to  the  Zambese — ^we  could  not  help  feel- 
ing that  it  was  encompassed  with  grave  and  peculiar 
difiSculties.  We  had  made  up  our  minds  to  the  perform- 
ance of  a  journey  over  a  country  insufficiently  supplied 
with  water.  But  how  were  we  to  accomplish  the  great 
object  of  our  journey — ^the  removal  of  the  Makololo  to  the 
noorth  bank  of  the  Zambese,  and  the  establishment  of  a 
mission  among  them  in  that  healthy  region  1  We  could 
not  look  for  immediate  success  in  this  matter  except 
dirongh  the  intervention  of  Dr.  Livingstone ;  and  it  was 
encouraging  to  us  to  learn  that  Mrs.  Livingstone,  who  h&d 


;TH  OF  THE  OEAJfOE  EIVEH. 

inrntnftn,  intended  to  proceed  with  the 
party,  with  the  view  of  meeting  her 
iambese.  After  giving  the  whole  snbject 
rious  thoughts,  I  commanicated  to  my 
I  tlie  coarse  of  action  which  I  deemed 
cmnBtances.  In  a  letter  addressed  by  me 
he  Foreign  Secretary  of  the  Misaionaiy 
Ae  Knmman,  let  March  1859,  I  tbos 
losed  "  bachelor  ezpedition  :" — 

having  lately  visited  Kuruman,  the 
il  with  the  new  missions  met  together  to 

the  future.  In  the  courae  of  the  delibe- 
casion  to  propose  the  following  plan  in 
he  mission  to  the  Makololo,  which  cotn- 
igly  to  my  judgment  as  being  the  best 
kdopt  in  present  circumstancee.  Instead 
selves  entirely  to  the  undertaldng  at  the 
md  of  those  probabilities  of  success  which 
ned,  I  saggeflted  that  the  'Makololo 
,  in  the  first  place,  make  a  bachelor- 
lyanti,  and  negotiate  the  removal  of  the 
dthy  locality  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
irse  you  are  aware  that  it  is  neither  an 

matter  to  induce  a  native  tribe  to  '  shift 
out  force,  even  after  some  of  the  people 
do  so.  The  difficulty  is  increased  if  they 
n  (ae  will  be  the  case  with  the  Makololo) 
1  which  they  have  been  driven  by  their 
Inpposing  however  that  the  difficulties 
[ — ^that  the  tribe  agreed  to  receive  mis- 
emove  to  the  north  bank  of  the  river — 
1  that  the  three  brethren  should  proceed 
pen  up  (if  that  were  possible)  a  wa^on- 
tation.     Arrived  at  the  spot  which  th^ 


FIRST  YEAR  IN  BECHUANA  LAND.  33 

and  the  people  agreed  in  preferring,  the  missionaries  could 
build  temporary  huts  for  themselves  and  their  goods. 
Their  way  thus  opened  up,  and  a  beginning  made  in  the 
work  of  instructing  the  people,  Paul,  the  native  teacher, 
who  has  agreed  to  accompany  the  mission,  could  be  left 
in  charge  of  the  station,  while  the  brethren  retraced  their 
steps  for  their  wives  and  for  the  remaining  portion  of  their 
property.  The  native  teacher  and  our  goods  left  in  their 
midst  would  in  the  meantime  form  a  sufficient  assurance 
to  the  people  that  we  were  not  deceiving  them.  When  all 
this  should  be  accomplished,  our  position  in  commencing 
our  second  journey  for  the  interior  would  nearly  resemble 
that  of  the  Matebele  mission  at  present.  A  great  deal 
of  time  would,  no  doubt,  be  spent  in  accomplishing  this 
plan ;  but  then  it  has  to  be  proved  that  the  same  amount 
of  work  could  be  accomplished  in  less  time  by  any  other ; 
and  besides,  this  objection  must  be  balanced  against  others 
connected  with  bringing  females  and  children  into  that 
country,  in  the  present  uncertain  state  of  things." 

This  proposition  was  not  received  with  favour  by  some 
of  those  whose  age  and  experience  entitled  their  judgment 
to  great  respect.  It  was,  of  course,  very  unpopular  with 
the  ladies.  And  in  point  of  fact  the  prospect  of  being  left 
for  more  than  a  year  in  an  unsettled  country,  and  with 
little  protection,  was  not  an  inviting  one  to  those  who  were 
only  newly  married,  and  quite  unaccustomed  to  such  a  life. 
However,  both  Mrs.  Mackenzie  and  Mrs.  Price  agreed  to  it 
**  under  protest;"  they  reluctantly  consented  to  what  they 
believed  would  be  the  best.  Mr.  Price  fully  approved  of 
the  plan.  Mr.  Helmore,  who  had  been  on  a  visit  to  Kuru- 
man,  promised  to  inform  us  of  his  decision  after  his  return 
to  his  £Kmily  at  Likatlong.  When  his  letter  came,  it 
announced  his  intention  to  take  with  him  at  once  his  wife 
and  four  children  to  the   Makololo  country;    and  Mrs. 

c 


34  NORTH  OP  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

Helmore  at  the  same  time  wrote  in  a  tone  of  quiet  deter- 
mination which  showed  that  she  also  had  carefully  con- 
sidered the  matter,  and  had  fully  counted  the  cost  When 
the  news  of  the  disasters  at  Linyanti  reached  England, 
grave  charges  were  brought  against  the  missionaries  in  the 
public  papers  of  the  day  for  heedlessly  and  heartlessly 
leading  women  tod  children  into  such  calamitous  circum- 
stances. With  the  limited  information  before  the  writers, 
it  was  perhaps  inevitable  that  this  complaint  should  have 
been  mada  But  I  must  be  excused  for  expressing  the 
hope  that  this  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  mission  will 
now  testify  to  the  anxious  deliberation  and  forethought 
which  were  exercised  by  the  gentlemen  connected  with  it, 
before  the  last  and  decisive  steps  were  taken.  And 
although  my  own  ideas  were  not  eventually  adopted, 
I  have  never  ceased  to  respect  the  judgment  and  to  admire 
the  heroism  which  dictated  what  seemed  to  me  at  the  time 
a  more  hasty  and  hazardous  course. 

Our  thoughts  and  our  movements  as  missionaries  to  the 
interior  came  to  be  largely  affected  by  other  events  tran- 
spiring at  this  time.  Soon  after  our  arrival  at  Kuruman, 
a  letter  was  received  by  Mr.  Moffat,  signed  by  two  officers 
of  the  Government  of  the  Transvaal  Republic,  warning 
him  not  to  proceed  to  the  establishment  of  missions  in  the 
interior  until  he  had  received  the  sanction  of  the  President 
of  the  Republia  As  both  the  Matebele  and  Makololo 
countries  were  far  beyond  the  territories  of  the  Transvaal, 
and  the  road  thither  did  not  lead  through  any  part  of  the 
Sepublic,  Mr.  Moffat  regarded  this  as  an  unreasonable 
demand,  with  which  he  could  not  comply.  Greater  un- 
easiness, however,  was  produced  in  the  minds  of  the 
missionary  circle  at  Kuruman,  by  the  news,  which  no  one 
doubted,  of  the  intended  resumption  of  hostilities  between 
the  Transvaal  Republic  and  the  Batlaping  tribe,  in  whose 


FIRST  YEAR  IN  BECHTJANA  LAND.  35 

country  Kumman  is  situated.  While  no  one  had  any 
reason  to  fear  personal  violence  at  the  hands  of  the  Dutch- 
men, the  spoliation  of  Dr.  Livingstone's  station  at  Eolobeng 
taught  us  all  that  our  equipment  for  the  interior  would 
probably  be  regarded  as  a  fair  prize,  and  the  forcible 
seizure  of  it  looked  upon  as  no  sacrilege  by  the  ^  Christen 
menschen"  of  the  Transvaal  It  was  therefore  thought 
nnadvisable  to  bring  in  supplies  which  were  lying  at  Hope 
Town.  A  meeting  of  the  missionaries  then  residing  at 
Kuruman,  or  visiting  it  for  a  few  days,  was  held  there  on 
the  4th  of  May,  for  prayer  and  deliberation  regarding  the 
threatening  aspect  of  affairs.  Those  present,  who  were 
seven  in  number,  embodied  their  views  in  three  resolutions, 
which  were  transmitted  to  the  directors  of  the  Society. 
The  following  is  the  second  resolution  : — "  That  in  con- 
sequence of  the  disturbed  state  of  tho  country,  and  the 
advanced  period  of  the  season,  it  is  exceedingly  improbable 
diat  the  Makololo,  or  even  the  Matebele  mission  will  be 
able  to  proceed  this  year."  Soon  after  this  meeting,  the 
large  party,  which  had  now  spent  some  months  together 
at  Euruman,  was  suddenly  broken  up.  Mrs.  Livingstone 
relinquished  the  idea  of  meeting  her  husband  by  way  of 
the  Makololo  country,  and  returned  to  Cape  Town.  Death 
also  had  its  share  in  this  breaking  up.  Mrs.  Ashton, 
who  had  for  some  seventeen  years  lightened  the  dwelling 
and  shared  the  labours  and  joys  and  sorrows  of  her  hus- 
band, who  had  been  for  that  period  one  of  the  missionaries 
at  Kuruman,  was  suddenly  called  away.  After  a  fort- 
night's absence  at  Griqua  Town,  on  missionary  business,  I 
found  on  my  return  a  firesh  grave  in  the  quiet  Kuruman 
churchyard,  and  motherless  children  still  weeping  in  the 
first  bitterness  of  their  grief.  Soon  after  this,  Mrs.  Sykes, 
one  of  our  own  companions,  received  the  same  summons ; 
only  she  was  called  upon  to  endure  severe  and  protracted 


SOBTH  OF  THE  OEABGE  BIVEB. 

«fore  her  release.  The  genome  meekness  and 
1  which  she  exhibited  were  long  spoken  of  bj* 
witnessed  her  last  dajs.  ^t  tie  threshold  of 
Africa,  she  was  enminoned  to  receive  the  reward 
ible  and  truly  devoted  Christian.  Altiiongh  far 
English  home  which  she  had  so  recently  left,  all 
'or  her  that  the  experience  and  hospitality,  and 
tre  of  Mr.  Moffat  and  his  family  could  accom- 
.  although  the  sufferer's  hour  had  come,  the  sweet 
eased  the  restless  pillow,  and  lighted  up  the  &ding 
^ere  not  performed  in  vain.  We  looked  upon 
s  in  the  light  of  family  bereavements,  for  our 
I  had  been  of  that  pleasant  and  unreserved 
It  is  some  satisfaction  to  be  able  to  record  that 
of  these  cases  was  death  caused  by  anything 
with  the  climate  of  Afiica. 
we  were  unanimous  in  passing  the  resolution 
oted,  as  well  as  others  which  had  reference  to 
ence  of  the  advance  of  the  Dutchmen,  and  the 
f  of  temporarily  removing  missionary  outfit  and 

0  places  of  safety,  individual  judgment  was 
to  requisition  in  carrying  out  these  ideas.  Hius 
lich  were  intrinsically  valuable  to  interior  mis- 
■ere  prized  by  mission  families  at  Kuruman,  were 
a  Hope  Town,  to  Onqua  Town,  or  to  the  Free 
;  seemed  best  to  their  owners.     Mrs.  Mackenzie 

that  time  in  a  state  of  health  in  which  I  could 

1  expose  her  to  the  uncertainties  and  disorder 
)  I  judged  it  best  to   remove  to  the  villago 

Kuruman,  where,  with  medical  attendance,  I 
lin  a  peaceful  home  for  the  next  few  weeks. 
Lumman  in  May  for  Fauresmith,  in  the  Free 
ch  possessed  to  us  the  additional  attraction  of 
residence  of  some  members  of  one  of  the  mission 


FIEST  YEAK  IN  BECHUANA  LAND.  37 

families.  Our  hurried  leave-taking  of  our  friends  at  Kuru* 
man  was  in  some  cases  to  be  a  final  farewell  on  earth. 
We  reached  Fauresmith  on  the  7th  of  June,  and  met  with 
a  warm  welcome  from  the  English  residents,  who  had  built 
a  little  church,  but  had  no  minister.  I  endeavoured  to 
supply  this  want  as  long  as  I  was  in  the  village.  In  the 
house  of  Mr.  Dickson  we  found  a  very  pleasant  home. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Helmore,  whom  I  had  hoped  to  meet  at 
Likatlong,  arrived  by  another  road  at  Kuruman  a  few  days 
after  my  departure.  Their  hearts  were  bent  on  proceeding 
at  once  to  the  Makololo  country.  Mr.  Helmore  himself 
proceeded  to  Hope  Town  for  the  necessary  outfit  for  the 
journey,  which  all  had  hesitated  to  bring  in  sooner.  His 
earnest  confidence  and  unquestioning  devotion  infected 
others.  What  had  been  hastily  removed  was  now  more 
hastily  brought  back,  and  preparations  were  at  once 
begun  for  speedy  departure  into  the  interior.  And  then 
as  the  season  advanced  all  fear  of  hostilities  on  the 
jMirt  of  the  Transvaal  Dutchmen  was  removed;  and 
the  news  was  heard  that  the  men  who  had  been  "  com- 
mandeered," or  called  out,  had  been  again  disbanded. 
This  sudden  change  in  the  tactics  of  the  Eepublic  was  to  be 
ascribed  to  a  timely  remonstrance  on  the  subject  of  the 
threatened  attack  on  Kuruman,  addressed  to  President  Pre^ 
torius  by  Sir  Greorge  Grey,  Her  Majesty's  representative  at 
the  Cape.  In  his  reply  the  President  showed  no  opposition 
to  the  missionaries,  ahdahnost  re-echoed  every  sentiment  of 
the  Governor's  letter — expressing  his  admiration  of  the 
evangelistic  labours  which  had  been  carried  on  at  Kuruman, 
etc  Danger  from  this  quarter  was  thus  at  an  end,  at  least 
for  a  time.  I  received  at  Fauresmith  the  first  intimation 
of  the  change  of  plan  on  the  part  of  the  missionaries  from 
some  natives  who  had  met  Mr.  Helmore  on  his  way  to 
Hope  Town  for  supplies.     Leaving  my  wife  in  charge  of 


KOETB  OF  THE  ORANGE  EIVEB. 

newly-found  6iends,  I  proceeded  at  once  to  Runim&n 
i  horse-cart  kindly  fiimiBhed  by  Mr.  W.  B.  Philip,  then 
lister  to  the  Griquas  at  Fhilippolis,  who  ako  accom- 
ied  me  on  the  journey.  The  speed  of  the  horses  was 
agreeable  change  from  the  slow  lumbering  ox-wa^on. 
a  usually  leckoned  in  South  A&ica  that  the  horse  goes 
ctly  twice  aa  fast  as  the  oz.  Mr.  Philip  and  I  left 
TosmiUi  on  the  29th  June,  and  readied  Kuruman  on 
4th  July,  having  spect  the  inteireniog  Sunday  at  the 
ion  of  Likatlong,  which  we  found  in  chai^  of  Mr.  Boss, 
dr.  Hehnore's  successor.  I  was  thus  able  to  visit  Kuni- 
1  and  return  to  Fauresmith  by  way  of  Griqua  Town 
Campbell  by  the  14th  of  July,  little  more  time  being 
it  in  travelling  than  would  have  been  required  to  reach 
ruman  by  ox-wa^on.  It  being  winter,  the  weather  was 
isant  during  the  day,  hut  bitterly  cold  at  night.  Mr. 
lip's  cart,  which  was  our  quarters  by  night  and  I^  day 
the  road,  was  just  long  enough  for  us  to  lie  down  com- 
ably  in  it,  and  broad  enough  to  hold  Philip  and  myself 
rided  the  one  who  went  in  first  turned  on  his  side,  when 
vaa  joined  by  his  companion,  and  the  cart-sail  was  shut 
\  the  outside  by  the  servant  The  luxury  of  undressing 
reserved  for  more  favourable  circumstances.  Wishing 
>ne  occasion  to  start  at  an  unusually  early  hour,  we  had 
:n  the  two  "  boys  "  or  servants  orders  the  night  before 
all  us  if  they  awoke  first.  Accordingly,  a  tap  came  to 
side  of  our  cart  at  early  dawn.  Half  awake,  and 
btless  ^ncying  himself  in  bis  study  at  Philippolis, 
iip  shouted  out "  Kom  binnen  !  " — "  Come  in !  " — awak- 
both  himself  and  me  with  the  earnestness  of  his  bospi- 
y.  The  impossibilities  connected  with  any  inunediate 
ptance  of  this  invitation  appeared  with  great  force  to 
boys  outside,  who  gave  unrestrained  expression  to  their 
sement     And  we  who  were  wedged  inside  the  cart 


FIRST  YEAR  IN  BECHUANA  LAND.  39 

certainly  never  felt  so  straitened  in  circumstances  as  when 
contemplating  Mr.  Philip's  invitation  to  a  third  to  "  kom 
bmnen"andjoinus. 

Arrived  at  Knruman,  I  found  that^  by  dint  of  great 
exertion,  Messrs.  Helmore  and  Price  had  nearly  completed 
their  preparations,  and  were  soon  to  commence  their  long 
journey.  In  deliberating  upon  the  future,  it  was  arranged 
that  I  should  follow  my  friends  early  next  travelling  season, 
with  provisions  and  other  necessaries.  Aware  that  I  was 
disappointed  at  not  being  able  to  accompany  the  rest  of  the 
party,  Mr.  Helmore  very  generously  remarked  that  my  de- 
tention for  a  season  would  probably  be  the  best  disposition 
of  the  members  of  the  mission — ^as  it  would  secure  those 
supplies  to  the  whole  party,  which  would  certainly  be 
needed  in  the  course  of  twelve  months.  It  was  evident  to 
me  during  this  visit  that  Mr.  Helmore  felt  deeply  the 
responsibility  of  his  position  as  leader  of  the  Makololo 
mission,  and  was  anxious  to  realize  the  expectations  of  its 
supporters  in  England.  The  first  part  of  the  journey  hav- 
ing been  disastrous  and  expensive,  it  was  his  earnest  desire 
to  perform  the  remainder  with  no  waste  of  either  time  or 
money.  Above  all,  his  great  thought  was  to  be  at  Linyanti 
in  time  to  meet  Dr.  Livingstone  there.  He  knew  enough 
of  the  natives  to  be  aware  that  a  stranger  would  not  be 
likely  suddenly  to  acquire  such  influence  with  the  chief  and 
people  as  would  be  necessary  to  induce  them  to  change 
their  residence.  Hence  the  importance  of  being  introduced  to 
the  tribe  by  Dr.  Livingstone  as  his  friend.  On  no  account 
must  the  Doctor  reach  Linyanti,  and  find  that  Helmore  had 
not  arrived.  These  feelings  were  fully  shared  by  Itfrs.  Hel- 
more, and  also  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Price.  Mr.  Helmore's  little 
children,  having  no  anxious  thought  about  the  future,  wei:e 
delighted  with  the  prospect  of  another  long  waggon  journey, 
with  its  constant  change  of  scene   and   variety   of  inci- 


40  KOKTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

dent.  It  was  under  such  circumstances  that  on  Thursday 
the  7th  July  I  bade  my  friends  God-speed,  and  returned 
southward.  On  the  following  day  Messrs.  Hehnore  and 
Price  left  Euroman  for  the  country  of  the  Makololot 

During  this  visit  I  arranged  with  Mr.  Moffat  to  return  as 
soon  as  possible  to  Euruman,  as  that  station,  owing  to  Mr. 
Ashton's  absence,  would  be  without  a  missionary  whenever 
Mr.  Moffat  left  with  his  party  for  the  Matebele.  As  a 
novice  in  the  work,  I  looked  forward  with  eager  pleasure 
to  the  quiet  months  at  Kuruman,  and  was  glad  to  learn 
that  Paul  the  native  teacher  had  been  engaged  to  assist  in 
the  public  services,  as  his  knowledge  of  Dutch  would  be 
useful  to  me  in  my  study  of  Sechuana.  If  this  hurried 
visit  to  Kuruman  was  opportune,  just  enabling  me  to  con- 
sult with  my  Mends  before  their  departure  for  the  interior, 
my  return  to  Fauresmith  was  equally  so ;  for  not  two  days 
after,  domestic  anxieties  and  fears  gave  place  to  grateful 
joy  in  the  birth  of  our  first  child.  I  take  the  liberty  to 
mention  this  event,  because  it  led  us  away  from  the  rest  of 
the  mission  party  at  a  crisis  in  its  history.  Our  son,  how- 
ever, was  only  a  fictitious  addition  to  the  population  of  the 
Free  State ;  for  as  soon  as  possible  after  hia  advent  we  left 
the  little  congregation  at  Fauresmith,  and  our  kind  and 
hospitable  friends,  amid  many  expressions  of  goodwill,  and 
returned  to  mission  work  at  Kuruman. 

As  a  dialect  of  Sechuana  was  spoken  by  the  Makololo,  I 
had  a  twofold  inducement  to  its  study :  the  discharge  of 
duties  now  devolving  on  me,  and  the  qualifying  of  myself 
to  speak  to  the  more  ignorant  people  on  the  Zambese. 
Before  our  departure  from  Kuruman,  most  of  the  young 
missionaries  had  preached  short  sermons  in  Sechuana.  We 
had  been  assisted  in  our  study  of  the  language  by  Mr. 
Ashton.  At  that  time  there  was  no  printed  vocabulary, 
and  practically  no  grammar  on  the  language.     We  had 


— -*■ 


i 


FIRST  YEAR  IN  BECHUANA  LAIO).  41 

copied  part  of  one  grammar  which  was  exhibited  in  a 
public  museum  or  library  in  Gape  Town,  and  I  managed,  as 
a  &youT,  to  procure,  for  the  purpose  of  copying,  another 
grammar  which  had  been  printed  for  private  circulation. 
For  a  dictionary  we  had  the  Sechuana  Bible  and  Cruden's 
Concordance.  So  we  were  compelled  to  stick  to  language 
employed  in  Scripture  at  the  outset,  and  it  was  seldom  we 
were  at  a  loss  for  the  word  we  wanted  Of  course  these 
were  immense  advantages  compared  with  the  position  of 
those  who  had  first  committed  the  language  to  writing, 
and  had  done  so  in  a  disturbed  country,  and  with  much 
manual  labour  to  perform.  Mingling  with  the  people,  and 
picking  up  words  and  phrases  as  uttered  by  them,  I  believe 
none  of  us  had  found  the  acquisition  of  a  smattering  of  the 
language  to  be  difficult.  On  my  sitting  down  to  the  com- 
position  of  a  sermon  every  week,  I  found  gradually  my 
store  of  words  increasing,  and  some  of  the  idioms  and 
finer  shades  of  meaning  becoming  plain.  It  was  my  cus- 
tom to  read  over  what  I  had  written  in  the  hearing  of 
Paul,  the  native  teacher,  who  stopped  me  when  I  used  a 
wrong  word  or  expression.  At  first  I^  troubled  the  good 
man  sadly  by  asking  him  in  my  ignorance  why  it  was  as 
he  said,  and  not  as  I  had  rendered  it.  This  seemed  to  him 
an  unnecessary  question.  It  simply  was  so — ^that  was  all  he 
knew.  After  a  little  time  and  care  I  came  to  see  for  my- 
self the  rules  or  laws  of  the  language  concerning  which  my 
instructor  knew  nothing  whatever,  although  daily  observing 
them  in  practice.  For  a  long  time  every  word  which  I 
uttered  in  the  pulpit  in  Sechuana  was  scrupulously  written 
down.  A  fadlity  in  acquiring  languages  is  a  great  recom- 
mendation to  a  person  intending  to  be  a  missionary ;  but  I 
am  persuaded  that  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  discourage 
young  men  of  average  ability  from  devoting  themselves  to 
this  work,  because  they  have  not  particularly  distinguished 


3  NOBTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  KIVEE. 

lemselres  in  classical  studies.  .Such  a  person,  if  thrown 
nong8t  the  people  vhose  language  he  is  to  speak,  irill  in- 
llibly  acquire  it.  He  m&j  take  longer  time  to  do  so  than 
lotlieT  man.  But  slowness  and  Burenesa  often  go  together. 
1  order,  however,  to  speak  a  foreign  language  correctly, 
[ring  every  conBonant  and  vowel  its  sound  and  its 
uantitf,  it  is  necessary  that  one  should  have  what  is 
died  a  good  musical  ear.  Without  this  no  one  will  speak 
like  a  native;"  but  at  the  same  time  it  oug^t  to  be 
nderstood  that  without  this  a  man  can  fully  master  the 
fflguage,  in  everything  except  this  delicacy  of  pronuncia- 
on,  and  may  prove  himself  a  useful  and  successful  mis- 
onary. 

To  those  accustomed  to  the  immense  number  and  Variety 
f  books  in  the  English  language,  it  is  strange  to  be  shown 
Q  a  single  small  shelf  the  entire  literature  of  a  people.  The 
lechuaoas  have  not  a  "  voluminous  literature,"  and  what 
bey  have  has  arisen  in  a  single  generation,  and  is  the  pro- 
uction  of  foreigners.  They  have  first  and  best  of  all,  the 
lible.  The  New  Testament  was  translated  by  Mr.  Moffat^ 
od  printed  in  London  during  his  visit  to  England  in 
838-42.  The  Old  Testament  was  aft«rwardB  translated 
y  Mr.  Moffat,  now  assisted  by  his  colleague  Mr.  Ashton, 
rho  joined  the  Ruruman  mission  in  1843,  and  for  many 
ears  had  chai^  of  the  mission  press  there.  A  selection 
f  passages  of  Scripture  for  the  use  of  schools,  recommended 
J  Uie  British  and  Foreign  School  Society ;  a  hymn-book,  and 
We  Shorter  Catechisni,  had  been  composed  or  translated  by 
ix.  Moffat,  and  printed  in  London ;  while  the  Pilgrim's 
•rogress,  a  supplemental  hymn-book,  and  Brown's  Cat«- 
hism,  were  prepared  by  him  and  printed  at  Kurmnao. 

Line  upon  line"  was  translated  and  printed  by  Mr. 
bihton,  and  has  passed  through  two  editions.  A  number  of 
eligions  tracts  had  been  translated  and  printed  at  Kum- 


FIEST  YEAE  IN  BECHUANA  LAND.  43 

man  by  Mr.  Edwards  daring  his  connection  with  the  mis- 
sion. At  the  time  of  our  arrival  at  Kuruman  a  small 
monthly  paper  was  issued  by  Mr.  Ashton,  which  was  called 
the  Bechuana  News  Teller,  and  was  occasionally  contributed 
to  by  natives. 

The  time  which  was  not  required  for  the  study  of  the 
language  I  gave  to  works  on  medical  subjects.  This  period 
of  reading  at  Kuruman,  with  what  attention  I  had  snatched 
from  other  studies  and  given  to  medicine  in  England, 
helped  me  afterwards  to  alleviate  much  pain;  and  with 
God's  blessing  to  effect  many  cures  after  native  doctors  had 
deserted  the  cases  as  hopeless.  I  believe  a  young  practi 
tioner  in  this  country  is  much  the  better  of  a  strikingly 
successful  case  upon  his  first  settlement  in  a  district.  One 
of  my  first  cases  at  Kuruman  was  sufficiently  striking,  and 
very  successful  In  consequence  of  it  I  found  on  the  fol- 
lowing travelling  season  that  my  fame  had  preceded  me 
into  the  interior,  and  all  sorts  of  cases  were  brought,  some 
for  delicate  surgical  operations — all  of  which  I  declined — 
telling  the  people  that  I  was  a  teacher  and  not  a  doctor,  but 
that  I  was  willing  to  help  them  as  far  as  I  could.  But  now 
for  the  case  itself,  which  was  the  bite  of  the  South  African 
tiger  or  tiger-cat.  Two  men  belonging  to  the  Batlaro  Town, 
which  is  some  twelve  miles  fix)m  Kuruman,  were  returning 
home  after  a  day's  hunt.  They  had  been  unsuccessful,  hav- 
ing expended  all  their  ammunition  without  killing  anything. 
The  hunters  were  passing  through  some  dense  bush  when  a 
tiger  sprang  on  one  of  them,  seizing  him  by  the  cheek  with 
his  teeth,  and  scratching  his  body  with  his  claws.  Having 
inflicted  what  it  considered  a  deadly  wound,  the  tiger  let  the 
loan  go  and  retreated  into  the  bush — ^for  this  animal  does 
not  immediately  devour  its  prey,  although  it  is  said  often  at 
once  to  suck  the  blood.  The  wounded  man's  friend  now 
returned,  and  carried  him  home.     His  &ce  was  in  a  dread- 


44  NORTH  OF  THB  ORANGE  RIVER. 

ful  state^  the  jaw  being  damaged,  the  cheek  torn  and  per- 
forated, and  even  the  poor  fellow's  tongae  injured.  The 
man  who  had  carried  him  home  now  walked  to  Kara- 
man  to  ask  help ;  confessing  to  me,  however,  that  he  did 
not  think  his  friend  could  survive.  I  gave  him  the  where- 
withal to  make  a  poultice  for  the  whole  side  of  the  &ce, 
and  sent  also  some  medicine  to  strengthen  and  support  the 
man.  Many  a  time  that  faithful  friend  walked  the  twelve 
miles  to  report  the  progress  of  the  cure.  At  length  his 
visits  became  less  frequent;  and  I  was  wondering  what  had 
become  of  him ;  when  one  day  a  stranger  walked  into  the 
mission-house  where  I  was  living.  It  was  my  patient, 
come  to  exhibit  the  cure,  and,  I  thought^  to  make  at  least  a 
touching  speech  expressing  his  indebtedness  to  me.  He 
sat  down,  and  narrated  the  whole  thing  over  again,  men- 
tioning the  various  medicines  which  had  been  given,  etc 
He  then  said — "  My  mouth  is  not  exactly  where  it  used  to 
be"  (which  was  quite  true,  the  damaged  cheek  having 
shrunk),  "but  the  wound  is  quite  whole.  Everybody  said  I 
should  die,  but  your  herbs  cured  me.  You  are  now  my 
white  man.  *  Naea  thipa  tie,  Ra,' — ^Please  to  give  me  a  - 
knife!" 

I  could  not  believe  my  own  ears,  and  asked,  "  What  do 
you  say  1" 

"I  haven't  got  a  knife;  please  to  give  me  a  knife. 
You  see,"  he  added,  as  I  wondered  what  reply  I  should 
make,  "you  are  now  my  own  white  man,  and  I  shall 
always  come  and  beg  of  you  ! "  This  seemed  to  me  a  most 
wonderful  transposition  of  relationship;  and  I  began  to 
think  the  man's  mouth  was  not  the  only  oblique  thing 
about  him. 

I  mildly  suggested  that  he  mighi  at  least  thank  me  for 
my  medicines. 

He  interrupted  me,  "  Why,  am  I  not  doing  so  1    Have 


FIRST  YEAR  IN  BECHUANA  LAND.  45 

I  not  said  that  you  are  now  my  white  man,  and  do  I  not 
now  b^  a  knife  from  youl" 

I  gave  the  man  up  as  a  very  wonderful  specimen  of 
jumbled  ideas ;  but  after  all  there  was  an  explanation  to 
his  conduct  which  subsequent  intercourse  with  heathen 
people  enabled  me  to  discover.  The  man's  position,  which 
was  so  mysterious  to  me  at  the  time,  was  this.  Here  is  a 
person  who  has  cured  ma  I  am  come  to  do  him  honour. 
How  shall  I  do  so  1  By  begging  from  him  I  To  be 
b^ged  from  is  one  of  the  marks  of  chieftainship  among 
Bechuanas.  A  stranger  will  say  that  his  chief  is  a  great 
man;  people  come  from  all  quarters  to  beg  from  him! 

Before  proceeding  £ui)her  north  with  our  narrative,  I 
wish  to  describe  the  two  Dutch-speaking  republics,  both  of 
which  I  have  more  than  once  visited.  I  shall  also  give 
here  the  impression  produced  on  my  mind  by  my  visits  to 
the  old-established  missions  among  the  Griquas  and  Bechu- 
anas. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  ORANOB  FREE  STATE  AND  TRANSVAAL  REPUBUC. 

Ever  since  1652,  when  Biebeek  built  his  fort  at  the 
Cape,  the  Europeans  in  South  Africa  have  been  slowly 
travelling  northward.  This  movement  has  been  more  than 
once  hastened  by  social  and  political  changes  taking  place 
within  the  colony.  The  complete  disenthralment  of  the  Hot- 
tentots from  serfdom  in  1829  was  followed,  in  1833,  by  the 
emancipation  of  the  slaves  throughout  the  British  dominions. 
These  movements  were  distasteful  to  the  colonists  at  the 
Cape,  as  emancipation  wab  to  the  West  India  planters. 
But  the  latter  at  least  received  the  compensation-money 
granted  by  the  English  Government,  which  was  not  pay- 
able in  the  different  colonies,  but  in  London  only.  The 
Dutch  slaveholders  assert  that  little  of  this  money  ever 
reached  them,  through  the  dishonesty  of  the  agents  whom 
they  employed.  Their  discontent  reached  its  height  after 
the  settlement  of  the  Kaffir  war  in  1835 ;  and  many 
families  removed  beyond  the  boundary  of  the  colony,  some 
seeking  a  new  country  in  what  is  now  called  the  Free 
State,  others  in  the  direction  of  Natal,  and  in  what  is  now 
the  Transvaal  Republic. 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  follow  the  exciting  history  of 
these  movements.  At  first  the  English  Government  re- 
garded these  ^'Emigrant  Boers,"  as  they  were  called,  as 
British  subjects;   not  preventing  them  from  *' trekking** 


FREE  STATE  AND  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  47 

or  removing  out  of  the  colony,  but  following  them  to  Natal 
and  to  the  Orange  Eiver  Sovereignty,  and  in  both  countries 
assmning  supremacy  over  them.  Natal  still  remains  a 
British  colony  under  a  Lieutenant-Governor ;  but  some  six 
years  after  the  government  of  the  Orange  River  Sovereignty 
had  been  assumed  by  England,  the  country  was  again 
abandoned  to  the  local  government  of  its  inhabitants. 
This  took  place  in  1854.  In  1852  a  convention  was 
entered  into  by  Commissioners  appointed  by  the  British 
Government  and  the  "  Emigrant  Boers "  under  Pretorius, 
in  which  the  independence  of  the  latter  was  recognised,  in 
the  country  which  has  been  since  known  as  the  Transvaal 
Bepublic.  It  was  promised  by  the  Dutchmen  that  they 
would  not  practise  slavery  in  the  new  country;  and  on  the 
part  of  England  that  she  would  not  permit  the  sale  of  guns 
and  ammunition  to  any  native  tribe,  while  the  trade  in  these 
articles  in  the  colony,  was  to  be  firee  to  the  Dutchmen. 

The  Orange  Free  State,  formerly  called  the  Orange 
Biver  Sovereignty,  contains  perhaps  the  finest  sheep-runs 
in  Southern  Africa.  It  is  a  flat  and  uninteresting  country, 
and  ill-supplied  with  timber.  The  Likwa  spruit  and  the 
Yaal  river  divide  this  state  on  the  north  and  west  from 
the  Transvaal  and  from  Bechuana  Land  j  on  the  north-east 
it  is  bounded  by  Natal,  and  on  the  east  by  the  newly 
acquired  British  territory  of  Basuto  Land ;  on  the  south  it 
18  bounded  by  the  Orange  river.  It  contains  an  area  of 
about  50,000  square  miles. 

The  Transvaal  Bepublic  is  not  such  a  fine  sheep-country 
as  the  Free  State,  but  its  products  are  more  varied,  as  its 
scenery  is  more  interesting.  Near  the  Vaal  river,  where 
Potche&troom,  the  capital  of  the  Bepublic,  is  situated,  the 
landscape  retains  the  bare  appearance  of  the  Free  State, 
bitt  in  the  districts  of  Bustenburg  and  Marikwe  the  tra- 
veller finds  himself  in  a  fine  agricultural  region,  with  strong 


48  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

fountains  and  running  streams;  and  the  mountains  are 
said  to  yield  lead,  copper,  and  iron,  while  coal  has  also 
been  discovered  in  the  country.  It  is  much  larger  than 
the  Free  State— being  estimated  at  some  80,000  square 
miles.  On  the  north  its  territory  reaches  as  £Eur  as  the 
Limpopo  river;  but  both  its  eastern  and  its  western 
boundaries  are  not  easily  defined,  and  indeed  are  con- 
stantly widening.  Its  southern  boundary  is  the  Yaal 
river.  Its  population  has  been  estimated  at  some  40,000 
whites.  Both  these  States  are  governed  by  a  President, 
Executive  Council,  and  Yolksraad. 

In  the  Grovemment  of  the  Free  State  there  are  Euro- 
peans and  Colonial  men  with  a  liberal  education.  But  in 
the  more  distant  Transvaal  Republic,  some  of  the  offices  are 
occasionally  filled  by  men  whose  qualifications  would  not 
be  readily  recognised  south  of  the  Orange  river.  Indeed, 
some  who  have  held  offices  in  this  distant  region  are  men 
whose  career  in  the  Cape  Colony  is  said  to  have  been  more 
marked  by  cleverness  than  by  high  character,  and  whose 
exit  there&om  was  somewhat  sudden.  But  the  fact  is, 
education  is  the  great  qualification  here — ^with,  of  course, 
fluency  in  Dutch.  The  comparative  legislative  and  ad- 
ministrative talents  of  the  various  ''  independent "  states 
and  governments  north  of  the  Orange  river,  is  an  interest- 
ing subject.  The  purely  feudal  Bechuanas  take  an  offender 
before  their  chief,  who  is  capable  of  deciding  in  simple 
matters.  But  when  the  quarrel  is  about  something 
written  or  printed  on  a  bit  of  paper — the  chief  is  &irly 
nonplussed.  He  wonders  why  white  men  will  foolishly 
quarrel  about  such  little  things.  The  Griquas  divide 
their  country  into  Cometcies — here  as  in  other  things 
following  a  Dutch  model  The  Griqua  Field  Comet  will 
attempt  to  adjudicate  on  all  cases  that  may  come  before 
him;  and  give   at  least  Border  justice.     In  the  "Free 


■^ '- 


FREE  STATE  AND  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  49 

States,"  the  Dutch  farmer  raised  to  the  office  of  field-comet, 
will  perhaps  be  able  to  understand  a  little  more  than  his 
Griqua  neighbour,  about  civil  and  criminal  cases,  and  how 
to  dispose  of  them.  But  when  he  comes  to  fill  the  office 
of  Landdrost  or  magistrate  in  a  village,  he  is  painfully  out 
of  his  element — just  as  any  hill-side  farmer  in  Scotland 
would  be  were  he  elevated  to  a  similar  position.  As  the 
Tillage  grows  and  its  business  increases,  the  perplexities 
of  the  magistrate  multiply  also,  until  it  is  resolved  that 
Mynheer  Suikerlippen,  who  has  long  acted  as  clerk  and 
general  prompter  behind  the  scenes,  should  now  be  in- 
stalled as  Landdrost.  *'Ya,  oom,"  exclaims  old  Land- 
drost Dikkop  to  a  friend,  as  he  descends  from  the  bench 
into  private  life,  '^een  fatsoenlijk  mensch  kan  niet  daar 
langer  zitten ;  daar's  nu  te  veel  uitlanders  in  de  dorp  " — 
"  A  decent  man  cannot  sit  there  longer.  There  are  now  too 
many  foreigners  in  the  town."  So  ignorance  and  incapabi- 
lity stand  aside,  whether  with  black  or  white  exterior,  and 
education  gradually  comes  to  take  the  lead.  He  who 
mounts  the  bench  may  not  be  really  so  ^  decent "  a  man 
as  the  person  who  descends  from  it;  but,  at  least,  he 
knows  about  the  business  of  these  ^  foreigners." 

A  few  years  ago,  religious  strife  and  party-spirit  ran 
high  in  the  Transvaal  country;  and  on  more  than  one 
occasion  the  opposing  forces  took  the  field.  They  kept, 
however,  at  long  range  from  one  another,  and  happily  not 
much  blood  was  shed.  A  description  of  the  causes  of  the 
combats  would  take  us  back  more  than  two  hundred  years 
in  the  history  of  our  own  country.  The  **Doppers,"  as 
they  are  called,  occupy  the  position  of  dissenters  from  the 
Established  Dutch  Church  in  South  Africa ;  although  they 
do  not  object  to  receive  aid  from  the  State.  The  only 
difference  between  them  and  their  opponents  which  an 
elder  of  the  Dutch  Church  could  mention  to  me,  was  first 

D 


50  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

that  (like  the  Cameronians  in  Scotland),  they  sing  only  the 
Psalms  of  David  in  public  worship ;  all  other  sacred  hymns 
being  ^'camaL"  Then  there  was  a  certain  cloth  or 
covering  used  by  the  Doppers  in  public  worship  and  at 
the  Table  of  the  Lord,  different  from  that  used  in  the 
Church.  Beyond  these  two  points  in  "religion"  my 
informant  could  not  go ;  although  the  difference  had  been 
the  cause  of  bloodshed.  He  went  on  to  say  that  in  their 
own  dress  the  Doppers,  like  the  Quakers,  do  not  approve 
of  the  changes  of  fashion.  Their  costume  is  usually  a  hat 
of  the  very  largest  dimensions;  a  short  jacket,  part  of 
the  cloth  for  which  would  seem  to  have  gone  to  make  the 
trousers,  which  are  very  roomy ;  a  large  vest,  buttoned  to 
the  chin;  and  the  usual  " veld-schoen."  My  informant 
admitted  that  the  Doppers  were  veiy  good  people,  although 
he  thought  they  would  be  improved  by  "conforming" 
both  as  to  the  singing  of  hymns  and  the  wearing  of 
longer  coats.  The  remaining  portion  of  the  Dutch 
community  is  divided  ecclesiastically  into  Orthodox  and 
'^Liberaalen"  or  Rationalists,  as  they  are  called  in  Eng- 
UsL  In  Potchefstroom  these  three  sections  had  sepa- 
rate congregations — all  consisting  of  Dutch-speaking 
people.  It  was  perhaps  better  that  they  should  differ 
and  even  fight  about  a  hymn  or  a  vestment  than  remain 
in  the  torpid  routine  of  formalism.  The  existence  of  the 
Orthodox,  Liberaalen,  and  Doppers,  in  the  Transvaal  and 
also  in  the  Cape  Colony,  is  an  evidence  of  increasing 
life  and  thought  among  the  people. 

The  frontier  Dutchman  prefers  the  Old  to  the  New  Tes- 
tament. He  is  at  home  among  the  wars  of  the  Israelites 
with  the  doomed  inhabitants  of  the  Promised  Land.  And 
no  one  who  has  freely  and  for  years  mingled  with  this 
people  can  doubt  that  they  have  persuaded  themselves  by 
soine  wonderful  mental  process  that  they  are  God's  chosen 
people,  and  that  the  blacks  are  the  wicked  and  condemned 


% 


FREE  STATE  AND  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.  51 

Canaanites  over  whose  heads  the  Divine  anger  lowers  con- 
tinnally.  Accordingly,  in  their  wars  with  the  natives,  the 
question  of  religion  is  at  once  brought  into  continual  and 
prominent  mention.  Dutchmen  will  tell  you  that  in  a  cer- 
tain engagement  the  ^heathen"  loss  was  so  many,  and 
there  were  so  many  Christians  mwdered.  Worship  is  con- 
ducted in  the  laager  or  camp  by  some  official  of  the  church, 
who  probably  exercises  military  rule  as  well.  In  their 
prayers  the  language  of  the  heroes  of  the  Old  Testament  is 
freely  appropriated :  they  are  God's  people,  and  their 
enemies  are  His  enemies.  And  here  a  geographical  question 
presents  itself  to  their  minds.  K  they  are  the  chosen 
people,  they  must  be  either  in  or  out  of  the  promised  land. 
The  latter  is  the  received  opinion  : 

"  Man  never  ia,  but  always  to  be,  blest  ^ 

In  their  journeys  northward  they  would  seem  to  have 
cherished  the  hope  of  speedily  reaching  the  land  of  Canaan. 
A  map  of  the  world  drawn  by  a  Dutch  colonist  would  be  a 
curiosity.  At  a  certain  mission  station  some  Dutchmen 
laughed  to  scorn  the  idea  that  the  earth  was  round.  A 
Dutch  deigyman  declared  it  would  be  as  much  as  his  in- 
fluence and  position  were  worth  to  announce  publicly  that 
he  believed  the  earth  to  be  round  1  Those  therefore  whose 
cosmos  is  what  they  have  seen  on  horseback,  or  heard 
described  by  "  travelled  "  neighbours,  are  to  be  excused  if 
their  ideas  of  the  distance  between  Southern  Africa  and 
Palestine  are  peculiar  to  themselves.  I  have  been  often 
privately  questioned  on  this  point  by  some  grave  house- 
fi*ther.  **Was  Canaan  near?"  ** Where  was  Egypt  1" 
"  Could  one  go  there  in  his  waggon  1 "  In  this  connection  it 
is  somewhat  affecting  as  well  as  amusing  to  know  that  the 
farms  in  some  of  the  most  northerly  districts  inhabited  by 
the  Dutch,have  names  given  to  them  indicating  the  longing 
of  the  farmers  to  reach  the  land  of  promise  and  of  rest. 


52  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

The  faith  and  the  simplicity  of  the  devout  and  humble 
Dutch  colonist  are  changed  into  fanaticism  and  superstition 
in  the  case  of  those  who  have  only  the  "  form  of  godliness," 
without  loyally  submitting  themselves  to  its  "power." 
What  they  want  in  their  own  life  and  character  they  strive 
to  make  up  by  wonderftd  "  experiences,"  of  which  they 
themselves  are  the  only  witnesses.  I  have  listened  a  whole 
evening,  in  a  company  of  Dutchmen,  to  the  recital  by  one 
and  another  of  anecdotes  of  Divine  interpositions  and  warn- 
ings ;  of  people  who  were  told,  as  in  Old  Testament  times, 
that  they  would  get  better  of  some  sickness,  how  long  they 
would  live,  etc. — ^the  event  always  tallying  with  the  pre- 
diction. It  is  a  fftct  that  many  Dutch  hunters  resort  to  the 
use  of  dice  before  going  out  to  the  day's  sport,  a  native 
diviner  being  called  upon  to  declare  by  this  means  in  which 
direction  game  is  to  be  found  that  day.  A  Dutchman  in 
the  border  districts  will  often  submit  to  the  charms  and 
necromancy  of  a  heathen  priest  and  doctor,  under  the  delu- 
sion— ^which  the  native  of  course  encourages — ^that  he  has 
been  bewitched.  Not  long  ago  a  native  doctor  was  liber- 
ally rewarded  by  a  Dutchman,  who  had  been  long  without 
an  heir,  because  through  the  said  doctor's  charms  and 
spells  the  farmer's  wife  had  at  length  brought  forth  a  son ! 
Ignorance  has  thus  been  gradually  lowering  the  tone  of  the 
people,  especially  in  the  case  of  those  coming  into  dose 
contact  with  the  natives.  The  remark  which  I  have  often 
heard  made  by  Englishmen  who  had  long  resided  among 
the  frontier  Dutch,  might  no  doubt  have  been  made  with 
equal  justice  for  several  generations — that  ''the  young 
Dutchmen  are  seldom  such  fine  men  on  the  whole  as  their 
fathers."  This  of  course  does  not  apply  to  those  who  have 
come  under  European  influence,  but  to  those  who  have  fled 
from  it. 

The  farther  the  Dutch-speaking  population  is  removed 
from  centres  of  civilisation,  from  churches  and  from  schools. 


FREE  STATE  AND  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.      53 

the  ruder  are  their  manners  and  the  more  uncouth  the 
dialect  which  they  speak.  Their  fellow-countrjrmen  to  the 
south  affect  great  contempt  for  their,  restless  connections  on 
the  frontier,  and  sometimes  call  them  "  Yaalpensen/'  which 
is  the  Dutch  for  Bakalahari,  the  ill-favoured  and  lean 
vassals  of  the  Bechuanas.  I  have  observed  that  many 
young  Dutchmen,  surrounded  from  their  youth  by  Bech- 
uana  servants,  introduce  certain  Sechuana  idioms  into  their 
own  language  in  ordinary  conversation.  For  instance,  the 
Bechuanas  have  a  hyperbolical  way  of  speaking  about  pain 
or  sickness,  which  is  ridiculous  when  reproduced  in  Dutch. 
If  a  Bechuana  man  has  a  headache,  the  idiom  of  his  lan- 
guage requires  him  to  say,  "  I  am  killed  by  my  head ;  "  if 
he  has  a  sore  finger,  "  I  am  killed  by  my  finger."  This  is 
now  in  constant  use  in  Dutch  in  certain  districts.  Again, 
when  a  Bechuana  wishes  to  rouse  or  to  hasten  his  servant, 
he  will  say,  although  it  should  be  before  sunrise,  *'  Make 
haste :  the  sun  has  set.**  The  Dutchmen  on  the  frontier 
are  learning  to  say  the  same  thing,  not  only  to  their  ser- 
vants, but  to  one  another.^ 

^  A  singalar  instance  of  the  introduction  of  a  new  phrase  into  a  language 
is  supplied  by  the  early  history  of  the  Eurumau  mission.  The  Dutch  lan- 
guage, which  was  at  first  the  vehicle  of  communication  there,  has  zatik,  a 
matter  or  affair,  and  zak,  a  sack  or  bag.  Mr.  Moffat,  in  his  work,  mentions 
the  mistake  which  the  interpreter  made  in  retaining  "  bag  "  as  an  equi^ 
valent  for  both  these  ^ords.  It  may  interest  some  to  know  that  the 
phrase  thus  introduced  by  mistake  has  passed  into  the  language  of  the 
people  of  that  place.  The  missionaries  told  them  day  after  day  that  their 
spnitual  well-being  was  "  eene  groote  zaak  " — an  important  matter.  The 
interpreter,  understanding  them  to  say  "een  groot  zak,"  rendered  it 
accordingly,  "  khetse  e  e  kholu  ** — a  large  bag.  Salvation  was  a  laige  bag  : 
it  was  the  bag  of  old  and  young  to  attend  to  the  Word  of  Gknl,  etc.  Now, 
hearing  this  phrase  constantly  recurring,  and  from  the  variety  of  expression 
and  of  iUustration  being  at  no  loss  to  find  out  tohat  was  meant  by  it,  the 
people  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Dutch  idiom  for  an  "important 
matter  "  was  "  great  bag ;  **  and  began  to  use  amongst  themselves  in  Sech- 
uana the  same  expression.  And  at  the  present  time  the  people  of  Euruman 
osnany  say  " khetse  e  e  kholu"  (l&'go  ^>&g)  ^or  "an  important  matter ; " 
and  also  "ga  se  khetse  eame** — "  it  is  not  my  bag,"  when  they  mean  *'  it 
is  not  my  affair."    Elsewhere  in  Bechuana-land  this  expression  is  never 


H  NOBTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

The  hospitalitj  of  the  Dutchmen  residing  in  the  remoter 
districts  may  be  said  to  be  wonderful,  and  is  a  most  worthy 
trait  in  their  character.  No  person,  black  or  white,  leaves 
a  frontier  farm  without  having  partaken  of  food.  Natives 
travelling  through  these  districts  count  upon  such  enter- 
tainment along  with  the  £uin  servants;  and  Europeans 
know  that  they  may  quite  reckon  upon  a  place  at  the 
farmer^s  own  table.  On  much  frequented  roads  this  habit 
is  gradually  changing;  and  a  ^ bondel-drager,"  a  person 
on  foot,  who  carries  his  all  in  a  bundle,  is  not  very  wel- 
come at  farm-houses,  and  for  sufficient  reasons.  In  the 
Transvaal,  when  gold-diggers  in  large  numbers  were 
expected  to  pass  through  the  country,  I  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  observing  the  high  place  which  hospitality 
occupies  in  the  mind  of  the  Dutch  householder.  Not 
wishing  to  invite  suspicious  characters  to  his  house,  a 
farmer  whom  I  knew  proposed  to  build  on  his  premises  a 
little  ^  house  of  entertainment,''  where  he  intended  to 
supply  food  and  a  night's  lodging  to  passmg  strangers. 
^  The  bad  character  of  the  people  must  not  cause  us  to 
fail  in  what  is  our  duty,"  said  this  Dutchman;  and  I 
believe  he  gave  utterance  to  the  feelings  of  many  of  his 
neighbours.  But  the  white-skin  passport  to  the  Dutch- 
man's table  sometimes  leads  to  amusing  incidents.  For 
instance,  a  gentleman  living  in  a  certain  distant  village  rode 
out  one  day  to  visit  a  Dutch  neighbour.  To  his  surprise, 
when  all  had  assembled  for  dinner,  he  found  his  own 
coachman  among  the  guests.  He  had  obtained  leave  of 
absence  that  morning,  and,  not  knowing  his  master's  in- 
tentions, was  paying  a  visit  here  on  his  own  account  I 

UBecL  In  other  cases  we  have  the  copying  of  characteristic  sonnds.  For 
instance,  although  there  is  no  "  click  "  in  Sechoana,  I  have  heard  Batlap> 
ing,  residing  close  to  the  Eorannas,  occasionally  introduce  them  into  their 
own  language.  In  the  same  way  the  Basutos  have  now  in  constant  use  in  a 
few  words  *'  clicks  **  which  they  have  borrowed  from  the  Eorannas  and 
the  Kaffirs,  by  whom  they  were  once  surroimded.  And  some  assert  that 
the  ''clicks "  in  EafiSr  were  originally  borrowed  fh>m  the  Hottentots. 


FREE  STATE  AND  TRANSVAAL  REPUBLIC.      65 

The  question  seems  to  be  settled  as  to  the  northward 
progress  of  the  European  population  in  South  AMca. 
Stringent  enactments  that  colonists  should  not  pass  a  cer- 
tain boundary  for  any  purpose  whatever,  were  always  a 
dead  letter.  Intercourse  with  Europeans  has  been  wel- 
comed by  all  the  tribes.  But  when  large  numbers  of 
Europeans  appear  in  a  certain  district,  the  ignorant  uni- 
formly yield  up  the  govemment,  with,  or  even  without,  a 
struggle,  to  the  men  of  force  and  resource.  How  is  this 
advancing  emigration  to  go  on  1  Are  our  frontiers  to  be 
left  to  decide  their  own  quarrels  1  Because  men  are 
ignorant^  are  their  rights  of  property  to  be  ignored  1  Are 
^filibustering"  expeditions  to  characterize  our  frontier 
policy  in  South  AMca.  Or  does  England  act  worthily 
when  she  virtuously  washes  her  hands  of  all  such  ques- 
tions, and  says,  I  have  '^abandoned"  the  frontier  men  in 
my  South  African  possessions  to  govern  themselves,  and 
to  deal  with  the  natives,  as  they  choose  1  Is  it  best 
that  the  Europeans  in  South  Africa  should  be  divided 
into  small  ^independent"  and  antagonistic  States;  or 
are  we  to  have  in  a  few  years  an  important  and  jealous 
republic  bordering  on  our  South  African  possessions,  and 
extending  from  the  Orange  river  to  the  Zambese,  with 
its  sea-ports  on  both  the  east  and  west  coasts)  Would 
it  not  be  better  that  there  should  be  one  large  and  power- 
ful European  community  in  Southern  Africa,  and  that 
the  energetic  Border-men  should  be  held  in  wholesome 
check  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  more  settled  localities? 
And  if  EngUsh  subjects  and  the  English  language  are 
steadily  spreading  northwards  in  this  continent,  from 
generation  to  generation,  might  not  all  the  provinces  be 
united  in  one  general  Federation  and  Parliament,  under 
the  Queen  of  England  as  its  head  1 


CHAPTER  IV. 

GMQUAS,  OR  HALF-CASTE  HOTTENTOTS. 

The  mission  to  the  Griquas  was  the  first  which  was 
established  north  of  the  Orange  River.  It  was  coBunenced 
in  the  year  1800  by  Mr.  Anderson,  who  was  also  connected 
with  the  Colonial  Government.  The  Griquas,  or  "Bas- 
taards/'  as  the  Dutch  call  them  (many  of  them  being 
half-castes),  had  crossed  the  boundary  of  the  colony  in 
considerable  numbers,  and  at  different  times,  and  taken 
up  their  abode  in  what  was  then  the  country  of  the  Bash- 
men  and  the  Korannas.  The  new-comers  lived  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  Korannas,  to  whom,  and  to  the 
Hottentots,  they  chiefly  belonged  on  the  maternal  side. 
The  missionaries  who  first  resided  with  them  had  to 
exercise  fortitude,  forbearance,  and  patience,  being  at 
times  in  great  personal  danger,  and  having  to  remove 
with  their  people  when  the  latter  shifted  for  the  sake  of 
pasture.  Agriculture  was  entirely  unknown  among  these 
tribes.  But  the  influence  of  Christian  teaching  and  example 
gradually  effected  a  change  in  the  habits  of  the  people. 
Many  professed  faith  in  Christ,  and  were  baptized.  Educa- 
tion made  progress.  They  began  to  give  up  their  nomadic 
mode  of  life ;  agriculture  was  introduced ;  and  at  length  a 
''dorp,"  or  village,  after  the  colonial  example,  was  projected 
at  Elaar  Water,  and  named  Griqua  Town.  Settlements  of  a 
similar  character  wereafterwards  established  to  thewestward 
— one  at  a  fountain,  named  Campbell,  after  the  missionary 


GRIQUAS,  OR  HALF-CASTE  HOTTENTOTS.  57 

traveller,  and  another  called  Philippolis,  after  Dr.  Philip, 
who  was  for  many  years  the  energetic  superintendent  of  the 
missions  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  in  South  Alrica. 
At  first  these   centres  of  Christianity  and  civilisation 
suffered  from  the  attacks  of  the  Bushmen,  who  had  their 
abode  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  neighbouring  mountains. 
Nor  were  these  the  only  enemy  with  whom  they  had  to 
contend ;  for  some  of  their  own  people,  who  did  not  choose 
the  quiet  life  of  the  Christian  village,  assumed  instead  that  of 
bandits  or  freebooters, — attacking  indiscriminately,  and  for 
the  sake  of  plunder,  the  farm  of  the  colonist,  the  cattle-post 
of  the  Griquas,  and  the  missionary  station.     These  lawless 
characters  were  called  Bergenaars  or  mountaineers,  and  are 
not  to  be  confounded  with  the  Bushmen  or  other  natives 
living  under  the  influence  of  Christian  missionaries.     And 
it  is  only  fair  to  assert  that  but  for  the  example  and 
teaching  of  these  missionaries   all   the   Griquas    would, 
without  doubt,   have   followed  the  disorderly  and   dis- 
honest  manner  of  life   of   the   Bergenaars.     Instead  of 
this,  the  Christian  Griquas  were  able,  by  vigorous  action, 
to  preserve  peace  and  order  on  the  northern  border  of 
the   Cape   Colony,  in  a   country  which   they  gradually 
occupied  as  their  own,  and  which  began  to  assume  many 
of  the  signs  of  civilisation.     It  is  well  known  that  the 
inhabitants  of  Griqua  Town  and  Campbell  drove  back 
an  invasion  of  Mantatees,  afterwards  known  as  Makololo, 
whom  they  met  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kuruman,  and 
whose  appearance  in  the  colony  must  have  led  to  the  most 
disastrous  results.     Many  of  the  Griquas  professing  Chris- 
tianity made  a  sort  of  compromise  between  the  somewhat 
monotonous  life   of   the  village   or  farmhouse   and   the 
nomadic  life  of  their  fathers  by  occasionally  undertaking 
an  elephant-hunt  in  Bechuana-land.     When  missionaries 
first  went  to  reside  at  Griqua  Town  and  Philippolis,  largiD 


58  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

game  was  still  abundant  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood. 
But  every  year,  as  they  decreased,  the  Griqua  hunters 
pierced  farther  to  the  north;  and  Lake  Ngami  and  the 
river  Zouga  were  visited  by  them  some  years  before  Dr. 
Livingstone  brought  that  district  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
civilized  world.  Adam  Kok,  the  chief  at  Philippolis,  and 
Komelis  Kok  of  Campbell,  were  half-castes;  while  An- 
dries  Waterboer,  elected  to  be  chief  at  Griqua  Town,  was 
a  Bushman.  He  was  filling  the  office  of  village  school- 
master when  chosen  to  be  chief;  and  all  are  agreed 
that  his  administration  was  characterized  by  wisdom  and 
energy.  On  his  death  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Nicholas  Waterboer,  to  whom  we  were  introduced  as  chief 
of  Griqua-land.  Although  not  possessing  the  enei^  of 
his  father,  we  were  assured  that  he  was  an  upright  and 
estimable  Christian  man. 

Perhaps  the  most  prosperous  period  in  the  history  of  the 
Griqua  Town  mission  was  between  the  years  1831-40. 
Not  only  among  the  Griquas  but  from  the  Bechuanas  were 
numerous  converts  obtained.  The  Batlaping  tribe  had 
been  broken  up,  and  were  scattered  over  the  country  under 
"head-men;"  the  power  of  the  supreme  chief  being  con- 
siderably in  abeyance.  Hundreds  were  added  to  the 
churches  in  those  years.  Men  and  women  who  had  been 
living  together  came  in  rows  of  fifty  couples  at  a  time  to 
have  their  union  solemnized  in  church.  One  whole  village 
— ^with  the  exception  of  its  old  chief  and  two  or  three  pf 
his  councillors — ^professed  themselves  disciples  of  the  new 
faith.  Basuto  refuges,  who  had  fled  during  the  commo- 
tions which  preceded  the  consolidation  of  the  power  of 
Moshesh,  gave  attention  to  the  preaching  of  the  mission- 
aries ;  and  when,  at  the  request  of  Moshesh,  Waterboer 
allowed  all  who  chose  to  do  so  to  return  peacefully  to  their 
own  country,  some  of  them  had  already  been  baptized. 


GRIQUAS,  OR  HALF-CASTE  HOTTENTOTS.  59 

Both  the  Bechuanas  and  the  Basutos  who  preferred  to  re- 
main in  Griqua-land  were  protected  in  the  enjoyment  of 
their  property  on  the  payment  of  the  same  **  opgaaf "  or  tax 
which  was  paid  by  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  country. 

But  some  years  before  my  first  visits  the  once  prosperous 
villages  of  Griqua  Town  and  Campbell  had  been  ruined  by 
the  dr3nng  up  of  the  fountains — the  apparent  strength  of 
which  had  been  the  chief  reason  for  their  selection  as  sites 
for  yill^es.  At  Griqua  Town  everything  bore  the  evidence 
of  former  prosperity.  But  the  gardens  and  fields  were 
now  parched  up  and  quite  uncultivated^  while  many  of  the 
houses  were  deserted  and  in  ruins.  The  impression  pro- 
duced on  our  minds  was  one  of  sadness  and  disappoint- 
ment. But  when  we  had  visited  some  of  the  neighbouring 
homesteads,  and  saw  the  manner  in  which  the  people  were 
living,  our  feelings  were  considerably  changed.  Both  in 
Griqua  Town  district  and  PhilippoUs  we  found  some  of 
the  people  in  possession  of  houses,  waggons,  and  clothing 
quite  equal  to  those  of  many  Dutch  fSumers.  For  several 
years  they  had  had  good  central  schools,  while  rudimen- 
tary instruction  was  given  in  the  villages  by  schoolmasters, 
who  were  usually  office-bearers  in  the  church.  And  the 
church-books  told  of  a  community  whose  breaches  of 
morality  were  not  lightly  passed  over,  but  brought  under 
rigorous  discipline.  It  was  very  interesting  to  young  mis- 
sionaries to  hear  the  congregations  addressed  by  their 
ministers  both  in  Dutch  and  in  Sechuana.  When  I  first 
visited  PhilippoUs  in  1859, 1  was  surprised  at  the  intelli- 
gence and  apparent  respectability  of  many  of  the  people. 
Even  firom  a  local  or  caste  standpoint,  their  only  fault  was 
their  features.  Some  showed  considerable  enterprise  in 
fiuming  and  in  rearing  sheep.  It  was  here  I  first  saw  a 
flour-mill  driven  by  water  in  possession  of  a  native.  The 
chief,  Adam  Kok,  who  succeeded  his  father  of  the  same 


60  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

name,  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  Mr.  Philip,  the  missionary, 
as  a  Christian  man,  and  showed  considerable  ability  in  con- 
ducting public  affairs*  At  this  time  they  supported  their 
own  minister  and  also  paid  a  good  salary  to  a  schoolmaster. 
I  was  aware  that  a  certain  charge  was  usually  brought 
against  missionary  stations,  and  especially  missionary 
"  institutions,"  in  the  colony.  They  were  said  to  be  nests 
of  idleness  and  pride.  But  if  such  was  their  character 
in  the  colony,  where  the  people  ^were  surrounded  by 
the  excessively  stimulating  influences  of  colonial  society, 
I  argued  that  beyond  its  boundaries  the  idleness  and  the 
pride  would  be  very  marked  indeed.  So  I  kept  my  eyes 
open.  I  cannot  say,  however,  that  the  Griquas  and  Hot- 
tentots at  those  stations  appeared  to  me  to  be  sinners 
above  some  of  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  country. 
As  to  idleness,  for  instance, — ^having  built  their  "harte- 
beest  house,"  and  their  "kraals"  for  cattle  and  sheep, 
what  remained  for  them  to  do  but  to  light  their  pipes, 
fold  their  hands,  and  enjoy  that  ease  with  dignity,  which 
is  so'  sweet  to  most  of  the  inhabitants  of  Southern 
Africa  Y  I  of  course  remembered  that  these  people  had 
passed  over  from  the  hard-working  to  the  easy-going  class 
in  society.  I  did  not  therefore  compare  their  habits  with 
those  of  English  navvies;  nor  even  with  their  own  country- 
men in  colonial  service.  They  were  sheep  and  cattle 
farmers ;  and  I  recollected  having  come  across  some  of  a 
higher  caste  in  South  African  society,  who  were  "indisposed" 
to  lead  out  a  very  good  stream  of  water  which  was  on 
their  farm,  finding  it  easier  to  purchase  flour  with  some  of 
the  increase  of  their  flocks  and  herds.  The  fact  is,  there 
is  a  certain  steady,  deliberate  current,— or  rather  placid 
lake, — of  action  in  South  Africa,  which  is  disturbed  only  by 
the  newly  arrived  European.  Whether  he  is  farmer,  mer- 
chant, or  artisan,  he  is  sure  to  be  at  first  shocked  with  the 


GRIQUAS,  OR  HALF-CASTE  HOTTENTOTS.  61 

•*slow"  ways  of  the  inhabitants.  But,  owing  either  to  the 
atmosphere,  or  to  the  African  mutton,  or  to  some  other 
occult  cause — in  a  year  or  two  the  bustling  "  uitlander"  or 
foreigner  himself  succumbs.  Beginning,  then,  with  the 
active  "  new  arrival,"  there  are  no  doubt  many  interesting 
phases  of  this  South  African  '^  indisposition "  before  we 
come  to  the  Koranna,  described  by  early  missionaries  as 
almost  too  lazy  to  get  up  to  allay  his  hunger  with  a  drink 
of  milk  or  to  light  his  pipe.  The  assertion,  however,  that 
Hottentots  and  Griquas  at  mission  stations  are  most  subject 
to  this  malady  is  not  borne  out  by  my  own  observation ; 
and  I  am  persuaded  its  truth  could  only  be  established 
after  a  very  wide  and  careful  induction. 

As  to  being  "  parmantig  "  or  conceited,  I  believe  we  must 
bring  the  Griqua  and  Hottentot  in  as  guilty,  at  any  rate 
from  a  caste  standpoint.  In  1862  I  certainly  saw  Griquas 
in  Philippolis  standing  at  their  doors  in  the  morning 
attired  in  showy  dressing-gowns  and  smoking  their  pipes. 
Now  some  might  wonder  what  the  world  was  coming  to, 
when  they  gazed  on  such  a  spectacle.  The  explanation, 
however,  was  simple.  The  people  were  selling  their  farms 
at  the  time,  and  had  too  much  money  in  their  pockets. 
They  bought  the  dressing-gowns,  and  a  good  many  other 
things,  to  please  the  eloquent  storekeepers.  The  fact  is,  the 
class  of  people  whom  we  are  now  considering,  speaking  the 
Dutch  language,  seemed  to  me  to  have  all  chosen  the  Dutch 
colonists  as  their  model  in  social  life  and  manners,  although 
most  of  their  missionaries  have  been  Englishmen.  Now  this 
ofught  to  be  a  gratifying  circumstance  to  the  Dutchman 
when  viewed  by  itself.  That  his  mode  of  dress,  of  saluta- 
tion, and  of  sitting  on  horseback,  should  be  the  high 
models  after  which  the  Griqua  seeks  to  comport  himself, 
instead  of  being  regarded  as  manifestations  of  consummate 
impudence,  ought  rather  to  be  viewed  as  gratifying  proofs 


62  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

of  the  discrimination  of  these  intelligent  people.  In  the 
same  way  it  would  seem  to  be  a  mistake  on  the  part  of  the 
wife  of  the  Dutch  colonist  to  set  down  to  pride  the  desire 
of  the  Griqua  and  Hottentot  women  to  imitate  her  own 
dress  and  domestic  manners  and  customs.  Her  taste  as  to 
colours  and  shapes  in  kapjes^  handkerchiefs,  and  dresses; 
her  use  of  herbs  and  medicaments,  as  well  as  numerous  little 
observances  resorted  to  in  sickness  and  in  times  of  maternal 
anxiety ;  even  her  gait  and  mode  of  addressing  domestics, 
are  fEdthfiilly  copied.  I  have  never  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  a  Dutch  lady  on  horseback,  and  therefore  cannot 
afiSrm  that  the  Griqua  horsewoman's  posture  is  a  copy  there- 
from ;  but  it  is  certainly  widely  different  from  the  attitude 
adopted  by  English  ladies.  Now,  I  submit  that  it  ought 
to  be  a  great  pleasure  to  the  wives  of  the  Dutch  colonists, 
not  merely  to  see  that  they  are  leading  the  fsishion  at  the 
neighbouring  Griqua  or  Hottentot  village,  but  also  to  leam 
that  their  less  favourecl  sisters  are  copying  from  them  in 
the  detail  of  the  management  of  their  households. 

The  besetting  sin  of  the  Griquas,  as  of  the  Hottentots  in 
the  colony,  is  fondness  for  brandy.  Wretched  Europeans, 
who  have  lost  self-respect,  and  who  have  ceased  to  inquire 
into  the  moral  qualities  of  actions,  loading  up  brandy  in 
large  casks  in  the  colony,  cross  over  into  Griqua-land  for 
the  purpose  of  exchanging  the  destructive  drink  for  the 
cattle,  sheep,  and  goats  of  Griqua  or  Koranna.  A  brandy- 
waggon  is  to  me  a  most  hateful  sight  Its  European 
owner,  all  dirty  and  ragged,  burned  with  the  sun,  and 
bloated  with  brandy,  hangs  his  head  or  turns  away  his  eye 
when  you  salute  him,  and  for  the  moment  perhaps  wishes 
he  filled  a  less  disgusting  position.  Here  are  no  flaring 
sign-boards  or  misleading  announcements;  no  glare  of 
gilding  and  gas-light.  There  is  but  a  rotten  and  rickety 
waggon,  whose  tent  is  broken  and  its  sail  torn ;  and  the 


GRIQUAS,  OR  HALF-CASTE  HOTTENTOTS.  63 

huge  casks  containiiig  the  brandy.  As  the  valtures  crowd 
overhead  to  feast  on  carrion  and  offal,  so  do  poor  wretches 
make  their  appearance  as  soon  as  such  a  waggon  arrives, 
leading  or  driving  their  live  stock  for  barter.  Below  the 
waggon,  and  beneath  the  neighbouring  trees,  are  men  and 
women  in  different  stages  of  drunkenness.  When  they 
partially  bestir  themselves,  it  is  only  to  put  to  their  heads 
the  black  bottles  which  h'e  beside  them.  There  is  of  course 
a  good  deal  of  fighting,  and  drink  and  remorse  drive  some 
to  desperation.  It  is. counted  a  master-stroke  on  the  part 
of  the  brandy-seller  if  he  can  escape  from  a  place  when  it 
gets  too  hot  for  him,  by  leaving  all  who  have  a  grudge 
against  him  dead  drunk  on  the  ground.  Both  Waterboer 
and  Adam  Kok  enacted  that  no  brandy-waggon  should  be 
permitted  to  enter  their  territory.  This  enactment,  which 
was  occasionally  evaded,  was  productive  of  much  good  to 
such  of  his  subjects  as  had  not  the  power  to  resist  the 
craving  for  raw  brandy.  On  one  occasion  a  large  cask 
was  seized  in  Philippolis  by  order  of  the  chief^  its  end 
stove  in,  and  the  drink  poured  on  the  ground.  It  is  said 
that  whilst  the  officer  was  obeying  the  commands  of  Adam 
Kok,  there  were  several  people  with  lips  at  the  ground 
tiying  to  catch  a  little  of  the  fluid  before  it  sank  into  the 
earth !  And  we  learned  that  eau  de  Cologne  was  exten- 
sively bought  by  Griquas,  who  had  given  way  to  intemper- 
ance, and  was  drunk  by  them  in  evasion  of  the  law,  which 
forbade  the  sale  of  brandy.  In  the  absence  of  anything 
stronger,  those  who  have  the  acutest  '^  tickling  "  in  their 
palates  seek  to  allay  it  with  tea  or  coffee.  I  have  been 
often  asked  first  for  a  ''soepje''  or  dram  by  Griquas 
whose  '^places"  I  was  passing;  and  when  my  driver 
whispered  that  I  was  a  missionary,  nothing  daunted,  the 
beggar  would  then  substitute  the  request  for  a  ''  treksel " 
or  "  single  infusion  "  of  tea  or  coffee. 


64  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

Previous  to  my  visit  to  Philippolis  in  1862,  the  Griquas 
under  Adam  Kok  had  resolved  to  remove  from  that  dis- 
trict. A  party  among  them  advocated  a  **trek"  or 
removal  to  a  district  in  Namaqualand ;  but  the  chief  and 
the  majority  preferred  a  country  then  known  as  No  Man's 
Land,  to  the  south-west  of  Natal.  Accordingly  the  sanc- 
tion of  Sir  George  Grey,  as  Her  Majesty's  High  Commis- 
sioner, had  been  obtained,  and  at  the  time  of  my  visit 
everybody  was  making  preparations  for  the  journey. 
'^  Trekking"  is  quite  a  South  African  institution.  The 
immense  extent  of  territory  renders  this  possible.  The 
fact  that  the  land  which  you  sell  will  bring  twice  or 
perhaps  ten  times  its  purchase-price,  and  that  the  farm 
which  you  hope  to  occupy  in  some  frontier  district  will 
cost  little  or  nothing,  has  considerable  influence  with  those 
who  trek.  Then  all  who  are  fond  of  hunting  get  impatient 
with  the  restraints  of  trespass  and  game  laws.  Again,  to 
people  of  a  certain  disposition  there  is  a  degree  of  civilisa- 
tion, and  a  certain  number  of  **new  ways,"  which  they 
can  bear ;  but,  beyond  that,  society  becomes  intolerable, 
and  they  ^*  trek."  In  the  case  of  the  Griquas  there  was 
added  the  strong  caste  feeling,  or  prejudice  on  account  of 
their  colour.  They  might  be  good,  intelligent,  and 
wealthy ;  they  were  only  "  bastaards  and  Hottentots  "  after 
all.  This  had  not  been  so  manifest  in  the  eariy  years  of 
their  contact  with  the  Dutch  in  the  district  of  Philippolis. 
It  was  then  not  unusual  for  a  Dutchman  to  give  his  hand 
in  greeting  to  a  Griqua,  and  call  him  ^'oom"  (uncle),  or 
**  neef "  (nephew)— in  short,  to  treat  him  as  an  equal;  but 
as  the  colonists  increased  in  number  their  clannish  feelings 
returned.  The  same  feeling  is  manifest  in  the  history  of 
the  Cape  Colony.  We  find  that  after  the  Dutch  had 
obtained  a  footing  in  some  inland  districts,  the  word 
^  inhabitant"  came  to  stand  in  the  letters  and  despatches  ot 


GRIQUAS,  OR  HALF-CASTE  HOTTENTOTS.  65 

the  period,  not  for  Bushmen  or  Hottentots  as  one  might 
suppose,  but  for  the  Dutchmen  themsdves.  They  were 
^  the  inhabitants"  of  the  country.  The  same  feeling  has 
modified  the  use  of  certain  Dutch  words;  for  instance 
**  menschen "  is  used  by  Dutch  colonists  of  themselves,  to 
the  exclusion  not  only  of  black  people,  but  of  Europeans 
also ;  "volk"  is  used  by  them  of  all  coloured  people,  and 
never  of  white  persons ;  although,  of  course,  no  such  usage 
obtidns  in  Holland  or  in  the  Dutch  Bible. 

As  some  colonists  preferred  a  country  where  there  would 
be  fine  fountains,  plenty  of  game,  and  numerous  "  volk " 
in  the  surrounding  villages,  with  only  just  enough  Euro- 
peans to  supply  them  with  ammunition,  moleskin,  prints, 
and  a  little  coffee  and  sugar,  so  the  Griquas  sought  a  place 
where  they  might  again  become  "  menschen,"  and  cease  to 
be  "  volk  "  and  "  schepsels  "  (creatures).  They  were  selling, 
it  was  true,  some  of  the  finest  sheep-runs  in  South  Africa ; 
but  they  were  getting  hard  cash  in  return ;  and  there  was 
no  sentiment  binding  them  to  the  countiy,  which  was  not 
^  the  land  of  their  sires,"  except  such  of  them  as  happened 
to  be  Bushmen.  The  Christian  man  hopes  for  the  time 
when  this  caste  feeling  shall  have  died  away  before  the 
influence  of  true  religion  and  wise  legislation.  It  is  of 
imx>ortance  for  those  at  a  distance  to  notice  the  reasons 
for  those  "  treks "  or  removals — ^which  have  no  claim  to 
be  regarded  as  "  national "  or  "  patriotic,"  but  simply  as 
dictated  by  sympathy  in  taste  or  sameness  of  colour.  The 
Dutch  word  for  Griquas  (Bastaards)  would  seem  to  strike 
at  the  root  of  all  nationality  among  them.  Half-an-hour's 
study  of  a  list  of  the  names  of  Dutch  colonists  leads  to  the 
same  conclusion  with  reference  to  them. 

I  learn  that  in  No  Man's  Land,  or  New  Griqua-land,  as 
it  is  now  called,  a  fair  amount  of  prosperity  is  enjoyed  by 

£ 


KORTH  OF  T^E  OBANGE  BITXB. 

I  new  "  inhabitants."  They  encountered  great  Buffering 
thdr  first  occupancy  of  the  country ;  and  their  mode 
life  in  a  gnun  country  will  not  be  so  easy  as  in  the  pas- 
al  district  whidi  Uiey  left.  One  of  their  own  tiiimber 
I  been  recently  ordained  as  minister  of  the  gospel  among 


CHAPTER  V. 

KUBUMAN,  70BMERLT  LAITAEDO,  UISSION. 

The  town  of  Lattakoo,  then  the  residence  of  the  Bat- 
laping,  a  tribe  or  clan  of  the  Bechuanas,  waa  first  visited  bj 
Europeans  in  1 801.  The  Cape  Government  had  despatched 
an  expedition  to  the  interior  for  the  purchase  of  cattle  fron 
the  natives ;  and  Messrs.  Tniter  and  Somerville,  who  wen 
at  its  head,  were  the  first  to  describe  the  Bechnanas  to  the 
civilized  world.  Having  been  formerly  accustomed  onl) 
to  the  wild  Bushmen,  the  Hottentot  seris,  or  the  savag* 
Kaffirs,  the  travellers  were  favourably  impressed  with  thi 
higher  social  life  and  character  of  the  Bechuanas.  Thej 
reported  that  "they  may  in  eveiy  respect  be  considered  U 
have  passed  the  boundary  which  divides  Uie  savage  iron 
the  civilized  state  of  society."  ^  Dr.  Lichtenstein  carried  Hi 
explorations  as  far  as  this  n^on  in  1 805,  and  was  foUoweii 
by  Borcbell  in  1812.  During  the  latter  year  Mr.  Johi 
Campbell  visited  the  missious  in  SoutJi  AMca,  and  piercec 
into  the  interior  as  far  as  Lattakoo.  Mr.  Campbell  is  tc 
be  regarded  as  the  pioneer  of  the  Bechuana  tuisdons.  It  i: 
trae  that  before  his  arrival  two  persons  bad  resided  on  thf 
Koroman  river,  who  were  known  in  the  colony  as  mission 
ariea.  Among  the  Bathtping,  however,  they  were  knowi 
only  as  traders.  Mothibe,the  chief  of  the  town,  expressed 
to  9fr.  Campbell  his  willingness  to  receive  missionaries: 
and  accordingly  in  1815  Messrs.  Evans  and  Hamilton 
I  Aceoimt  of  >  Journey  In  lSOI-2  to  tbe  Booibiuna  natioD,  •pponded  b 
■  To;agG  to  Cochin  China.    By  Sir  John  Buiow.    Loodon,  1800. 


68  XOBTH  OF  THE  ORAKGE  RIYSB. 

accompanied  bj  Bome  Chiistiin  Hottentots^  proceeded 
northwards  throng^  the  c(d<Hi j  to  establish  the  new  mis- 
sion. This  was  thai  r^arded  as  a  formidable  enterprise, 
for  Lattakoo  was  at  a  omsidenUe  distance  from  Graaff 
Beinety  which  was  the  nearest  colonial  town.  The  diffi- 
culty, howerer,  was  materiaDy  listened  by  the  hct  that 
Griqna  Town  was  within  a  week's  journey  of  the  contem- 
plated station ;  and  its  inhabitants  had  been  at  that  time 
accostomed  to  missionaries  for  fifteen  years.  Messrs.  Evans 
and  Hamilton  proceeded  with  great  caution,  leaving  their 
wives  at  Griqna  Town,  ^according  to  the  wish  of  the 
Directors,"  as  Mr.  Hamilton  eTplains  in  his  joumaL  They 
paid  two  visits  to  Lattakoo  in  1816,  bat  were  not  favour- 
ably received.  Forgetting  the  promise  made  to  Mr. 
Campbell,  the  people  declared  ^  the  teaching"  should  not 
come  to  them.  They  feared  that  the  missionaries  would 
change  their  old  customs.  It  would  be  with  them  as  with 
the  people  of  Griqua  Town,  "  who,"  they  said,  "  once  wore 
a  '  kaross,'  but  now  wear  clothes ;  once  had  two  wives,  but 
now  only  one."  At  this  time  Mr.  Evans  gave  up  the  mis- 
sion, but  Mr.  Bead  took  his  place,  and,  proceeding  to 
Lattakoo,  met  with  a  &vourable  reception.  La  1820  Mr. 
Campbell  again  visited  the  countiy,  accompanied  by  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Moffat,  whose  names  have  been  since  connected 
with  the  Lattakoo  or  Kuruman  mission,  and  with  Bechuana- 
land  generally.^  Mr.  Bead  returned  with  Mr.  Campbell  to 
the  colony;  and  for  many  years  Messrs.  Hamilton  and 
Moffat  shared  between  them  the  labours  and  anxieties  of 

'  Mr.  Moifat's  eloquent  account  of  liis  connection  with  the  missioii  in 
Namaqualand,  and  the  history  of  his  missionary  life  in  Bechuana-land,  have 
long  been  before  the  public  in  the  volume  entitled  Missionary  Labours 
and  Scenes  in  Southern  Africa — a  work  which  has  reached  its  thirtieth 
thousand.  Mr.  Hamilton  died  in  1851,  after  a  lengthened  and  honourable 
career.  In  1870,  Mr.  Moffat,  now  aged  and, in  feeble  health,  returned  to 
England,  retiring  with  reluctance  from  a  work  which  he  commenced  in 
1815,  and  in  which  he  has  been  pre-eminently  distinguished. 


KURUMAN,  FORMEBLY  LATTAKOO,  mSSION.  69 

this  frontier  station.  Their  difficulties  were  considerably 
increased  by  the  unsettled  condition  of  the  country.  There 
was  no  peace  in  the  land.  Cattle-lifting  expeditions  were 
constantly  on  the  move;  and  in  these  engagements  the 
Batlaping  were  not  always  the  victors.  They  had  removed 
from  Lattakoo  to  Kuruman  after  one  of  these  reverses,  and 
were  found  there  by  Mr.  Moffat.  The  present  station, 
however,  was  not  commenced  till  1824.  A  tract  of  about 
two  miles  of  the  country  was  bought  by  the  missionaries 
from  Mothibe,  and  paid  for  with  articles  which  Mr.  Moffat 
had  brought  from  Gape  Town.  Here  were  raised  a  large 
and  substantial  church,  and  two  good  dwelling-houses,  all 
of  stone.  I  am  about  to  speak  of  the  higher  moral  and 
spiritual  structure  which  has  been  reared  in  this  district ; 
but  having  myself  made  some  acquaintance  with  the  house- 
builder^s  tools  in  Africa,  I  feel  bound  to  mention  with  re- 
spect the  solid  stone  walls  and  the  well-constructed  roof 
of  the  Kuruman  church.  The  station  was  laid  out  by  Mr. 
Moffat,  who  to  his  services  as  land-surveyor  and  architect 
added  with  equal  diligence  the  humbler  but  no  less  neces- 
sary and  arduous  callings  of  quarrier  of  stones  and  hewer 
of  timber  for  the  church.  The  walls  were  built  by  well-quali- 
fied stone-masons,  Millen  and  Hume.  The  roof  was  the  work 
of  the  Rev.  R.  Edwards,  for  more  than  ten  years  connected 
with  the  Kuruman  mission,  afterwards  resident  at  .one  of 
the  stations  broken  up  by  the  Dutchmen  of  the  Transvaal, 
and  now  missionary  at  Port  Elizabeth.  These  buildings 
were  completed  in  1839.  The  Kuruman  station  is  one  of 
those  "marks"  in  the  country  which  would  remain  to 
testify  to  the  skill  and  power  as  well  as  Christian  perse- 
verance of  its  founders,  were  the  white  men  all  expelled 
from  the  country,  and  driven  back  into  the  sea,  according 
to  the  dreams  of  Kaffir  soothsayers.  Let  us  hope  that  as 
long  as  it  stands  it  shall  ever  be  the  house  of  God,  sup- 


70  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

plied  amid  the  fluctations  of  African  society  by  devout 
men  for  its  ministers,  and  filled  with  humble  and  earnest 
Christian  worshippers. 

I  found  that^most  of  the  people  living  at  Kuruman  have 
considerable  knowledge  of  agriculture  and  the  ordinary 
management  of  a  garden.  The  hoe  has  largely  given  place 
to  the  plough,  and  in  such  cases  the  work  of  the  garden 
ceases  to  belong  to  the  women,  and  is  performed  by  the  men. 
Here  are  the  best-kept  native  gardens  in  Bechuana-land ;  but 
even  here  the  ^  straight  line "  in  fence  and  furrow  is  not 
always  what  it  ought  to  be.  Ab  the  land  at  this  station 
belongs  to  the  Missionary  Society,  the  apportionment  of 
the  gardens  rests  with  the  missionaries,  and  is  perhaps  not 
the  most  pleasant  of  their  offices.  It  is  required  that  the 
occupant  be  a  well-conducted  man,  and  the  ^  husband  of 
one  wife."  These  irrigable  gardens  at  Kuruman  are,  how- 
ever, comparatively  few  in  number  and  limited  in  extent ; 
and  the  country  being  unfavourable  to  cattle,  great  distress 
frequently  prevails.  The  game  has  been  long  since  killed 
or  driven  to  a  distance,  and  it  is  only  the  most  skilful  and 
persevering  huntsman  who,  after  hours  of  stalking;  succeeds 
in  bringing  home  a  steen-buck,  a  duiker,  or  a  spring- 
buck. In  times  of  scarcity  the  women  and  childr^ 
spend  hours  every  day  in  digging  up,  drying  in  the  sun, 
and  grinding  into  coarse  flour  the  root  of  the  motlopi- 
tree,  of  which  they  make  porridge.  This  root  is  also 
extensively  used  by  the  frontier  colonists  as  coffee.  The 
berries  of  the  moretlwa  bushes  are  also  very  welcome 
when  their  season  comes  round.  Should  disease  or  acci- 
dent put  an  end  to  one  of  your  cattle,  it  is  soon  surrounded 
by  hungry  claimants,  to  whom  it  is  very  welcome.  The 
constant  uncertainty  of  obtaining  a  supply  of  the  neces- 
saries of  life  would  seem  to  have  impressed  itself  on  the 
mind  and  language  and  features  of  the  people.     In  dis- 


KUKUMAN,  FORMEELY  LATTAKOO,  MISSION.  7 1 

tricts  often  visited  by  scarcity,  there  is  a  certain  restless, 
anxious,  greedy  expression  to  be  observed  on  the  people's 
fSfkces.  And  just  as  the  energetic  and  enterprising  English- 
man says,  ^How  do  you  dof  as  a  form  of  salutation, 
the  Bechuanas,  who  in  times  of  scarcity  are  in  the  habit  of 
cooking  a  little  food  during  the  silence  of  the  night,  lest 
their  neighbours  should  beg  from  them — make  it  their 
first  question  when  they  meet  on  the  street  next  day, — 
«  Lo  yang  1"—"  What  are  you  eating  V*  **  Nothing  what- 
ever "  is  the  conventional  answer.  This  has  passed  into 
daily  use  as  a  mere  form  of  greeting,  and  is  used  in  times 
of  plenty  as  well  as  scarcity.  It  is  evident  that  mission- 
aries labouring  in  such  districts  have  much  to  discourage 
them  in  connection  with  the  outward  circumstances  of 
the  people.  ^  What 's  the  use  o'  speakin'  aboot  releegion 
when  there's  nae  meal  in  the  house)"  demanded  an 
eccentric  character  in  the  north,  of  some  one  who  had 
been  proffering  ghostly  counsel.  And  sometimes  the 
missionary  in  South  Bechuana-land  would  as  soon  give 
some  of  his  people  a  dinner  as  a  sermon — if  it  were  pos- 
sible to  do  so. 

After  Christianity  had  made  some  progress  in  the  country, 
the  wealthier  natives,  following  the  example  of  the  Griquas 
in  the  south,  began  to  purchase  waggons,  guns,  and  ammuni- 
tion, and  every  winter  to  engage  in  hunting.  Now,  in 
itself  considered,  this  is  a  miserably  unsettled  kind  of  life. 
The  Griqua  missionaries  complained  loudly  that  their 
people  came  back  deteriorated  from  ''the  hunt."  The 
Bechuana  missionaries  also  came  to  understand  that  mem- 
bers of  their  churches  did  not  always  give  the  best  impres- 
sion of  Christianity  in  the  remoter  r^ons  which  they 
visited.  But  after  all  the  hunt  was  better  than  the  cattle- 
Hfting  raid ;  and  it  seemed  to  the  natives,  as  it  does  to 
many  Europeans,  to  be  the  readiest  way  of  procuring 


72  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

money.  Then  as  Europeans  increased  in  nnmber  in  the 
country,  occupation  was  offered  the  poorer  natives  as  drivers, 
leaders,  and  guides.  For  my  own  part,  it  is  only  just  to 
say  that  I  could  not  expect  better  service  or  greater  trust- 
worthiness than  I  have  experienced  from  Bechuana  men. 
By  and  bye  it  came  to  be  observed  that  as  the  game 
receded  to  a  distance,  and  longer  time  was  consumed  on 
the  journey  to  the  hunting-field,  the  people  who  had 
remained  at  home,  and  attended  carefully  to  their  gardens 
and  their  stock,  were  better  off  at  the  end  of  the  year 
than  the  hunters,  although  there  might  be  less  display 
about  their  industrious  mode  of  life.  The  missionaries 
encourage  their  people  to  stay  at  home  when  it  is  possible 
for  them  to  do  so.  And  everywhere  fountains  are  being 
put  to  account  in  order  to  raise  bom  the  thirsty  ground 
abundant  food  for  their  flEunilies. 

If  you  wish  to  see  Euruman  to  advantage,  you  must 
come  to  church  on  Sunday  morning.  I  do  not  mean  to 
the  prayer-meeting  at  sunrise,  but  during  the  hour  before 
service,  when  the  people  assemble  in  groups  outside  the 
church,  in  the  grateful  shade  of  the  syringa  trees.  Some 
read  the  Scriptures ;  others  are  going  over  the  spelling- 
book  ;  acquaintances  are  greeting  each  other ;  while  occa- 
sional strangers  from  the  interior  stand  in  the  background 
in  their  karosses,  and  gaze  with  mute  wonder  on  the  scene. 
Inside  the  church  and  school-room  the  children  are  singing 
h3rmns  and  listening  to  the  instructions  of  their  teachers. 
You  see  many  people  who  are  respectably  dressed.  Most 
of  the  men  belonging  to  the  station  wear  European 
clothing;  the  trousers,  however,  are  frequently  of  skin, 
tanned  and  made  by  themselves.  The  Bechuanas  are 
skilftd  in  patching ;  and  one  sees  coats  and  gowns  of  many 
colours,  and  wide-awake  hats  so  operated  upon  that  you 
cannot  well  describe  either  their  shape  or  colour.     Most  of 


ZUKUMAN,  FORMERLY  LATTAKOO,  MISSION.  73 

the  women  wear  a  handkerchief  (or  two)  tied  tightly  round 
the  head;  and  it  is  counted  rather  elegant  to  have  one 
coloured,  while  the  other  is  black  silk.  Ladies'  hats  were 
patronized  by  a  few ;  and  there  seemed  to  be  a  division  of 
opinion  as  to  whether  the  hat  ought  to  be  worn  on  the 
bare  head  or  over  a  handkerchief  rather  ingeniously  folded 
so  as  to  imitate  long  hair  in  a  net.  Shoes  are  now  neatly 
enough  made,  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  ''  brogues  "  in 
Scotland;  but  stockings  are  regarded  as  equally  super- 
fluous with  gloves.  You  observe  that  a  good  many  have 
brought  with  them  a  pretty  large  bag,  while  some  also 
carry  a  chair  on  their  shoulder.  The  bag  contains  the 
Sechuana  Bible,  which  is  in  three  volumes,  and  the  hymn- 
book,  which,  here  as  elsewhere,  is  a  great  favourite. 
The  chairs  are  brought  chiefly  by  the  aristocracy  of  the 
village,  the  reason  being,  as  you  see  on  entering  the  church, 
that  the  congregation  sit  on  benches  or  forms  without 
backs,  which  is  not  the  most  comfortable  position  in  which 
to  hear  a  sermon.  The  bell  rings  for  service,  and  the 
people  hasten  into  the  church.  The  mothers  who  have 
little  children  remain  on  forms  near  the  doors,  so  that  in 
case  of  a  squall  they  can  readily  make  their  exit. 

The  minister  of  the  day  ascends  the  pulpit ;  and  as  the 
London  Missionary  Society  is  a  very  "  broad  "  institution, 
and  takes  no  notice  whatever  of  clerical  dress  and  appoint- 
ments, black  doth  seldom  extended  farther  than  the  coat ; 
while  pulpit-gowns  and  bands,  and  even  white  neckties,  were 
nowhere ;  and  it  was  not  unusual  for  one  of  the  ministers 
to  make  his  appearance  in  smoking-cap  and  wrought 
slippers!  The  cap  was  off  in  church,  and  the  slippers 
were  not  seen  in  the  pulpit ;  and  when  both  were  seen 
outside,  instead  of  shocking  any  of  the  congregation,  they 
seemed  to  be  much  admired.  The  singing  at  Kuruman  in 
1859  was  equalled  only  by  that  of  a  Dutch  frontier  con- 


74  NORTH  OF  THE  OBANGB  RIVER. 

gregation.  The  latter  would  bear  off  the  palm  on  account 
of  the  strength  of  the  voices  and  lungs  of  the  Dutch  people. 
Every  one  seemed  to  me  to  improvise  a  tune  as  he  went 
on,  only  looking  out  that  he  was  not  more  than  two  notes 
behind  or  before  the  rest.  The  leader  always  stopped  a 
note  or  two  before  the  end  of  a  verse,  apparently  to  take 
breath,  and  before  all  had  finished  struck  up  a  new  one.  The 
effect  was  wonderful,  although  difficult  to  describe.  But  at 
Ruruman  a  great  improvement  took  place  in  the  singing  in 
a  very  short  time.  Lessons  in  church  psalmody  were  given 
by  the  Misses  Moffat,  assisted  by  an  excellent  harmonium, 
kindly  sent  out  for  the  use  of  the  station  by  some  Christian 
ladies  in  London.  The  singing  is  now  as  good  as  in  an 
English  or  Scotch  village  church.  Many  of  the  Bechuanas 
showed  themselves  possessed  of  a  fine  musical  ear,  although 
in  this  respect  they  are  perhaps  excelled  by  the  Griquas 
and  Hottentots.  Instead  of  thumping  the  dusty  earth  the 
whole  weary  night  long,  to  a  monotonous  recitative,  as  in 
the  olden  time,  the  villagers  in  South  Bechuana-land  now 
collect  in  little  parties  round  a  neighbour's  fire,  and  sing 
hymn  after  hymn  till  a  late  hour.  At  present  all  music  is 
sacred  among  the  Bechuanas ;  the  love  ditty  and  the  comic 
song  are  unknown ;  and  several  song  airs  are  used  in  public 
worship,  being  known  to  the  people  only  as  psahn-tunee. 
Thus  ^'Jock  o'  Hazeldean,"  usually  sung  at  a  marriage 
service,  suggests  nothing  of  elopement  or  letting  the  "  tear 
doun  fa' "  for  an  absent  lover ;  but  all  its  associations  in 
Bechuana-land  are  connected  with  a  match  approved  by 
the  parents  and  ratified  by  the  church. 

The  service  now  proceeds  with  the  reading  and  exposi- 
tion of  Scripture,  succeeded  by  solemn  prayer.  A  sermon 
or  lecture  follows,  in  which  the  preacher  strives  to  reproduce 
some  incident  in  the  sacred  narrativiB, — some  parable  or 
doctrine,  so  as  to  impress  its  lesson  on  the  minds  of  his 


KUKUMAN,  FORMEELY  LATTAKOO,  MISSION.  75 

audience.  In  1859  there  were  three  such  services  at  Kuru- 
man  on  the  Sunday — ^the  evening  one  being  attended  chiefly 
by  the  catde-herds,  bird-frighteners  at  the  gardens,  and 
others  who  were  prevented  from  coining  to  church  during 
the  day.  The  church  was  lighted  with  tallow  candles, 
one  of  which  was  on  each  side  of  the  reading-desk,  and  in 
die  middle  of  the  church  a  chandelier  was  suspended  from 
the  roof.  An  hour-glass  is  beside  the  snuffers  in  the  pul- 
pit— articles  not  usually  found  in  pulpits  now-a-days. 
There  is  an  officer  for  the  general  snuffing  of  candles,  who 
operates  several  times  during  the  service.  In  the  course  of 
the  week  there  is  one  public  evening  service  conducted  by 
one  of  the  missionaries,  and  another  entirely  in  the  hands 
of  the  natives. 

In  speaking  of  th&  religious  attainments  of  the  Christian 
Bechuanas,  their  former  manner  of  life  must  never  be  for- 
gotten, if  we  would  do  justice  to  the  people  and  to  their 
spiritual  instructors.  Their  present  condition  must  be 
studied  in  connection  with  their  past  history.  It  is  not  to 
be  expected  that  a  loquacious  news-telling  people,  unaccus- 
tomed to  soUtude  and  to  consecutive  thought  or  study, 
should  on  their  conversion  to  Christianity  become  at  once 
remarioible  for  their  elevated  spirituality,  and  for  delighting 
in  protracted  seasons  of  prayer,  meditation,  and  communion 
with  Grod.  Grodliness  is  the  highest  state  of  being  on  earth. 
He  was  godly  who  sang  of  "  Holy  Light "  in  Paradise  Lost; 
and  he  who  in  our  own  time  meekly  and  trustfully  pleads — 

"  Lead,  kindly  Light,  amid  the  encircling  gloom. 
Lead  Thou  me  on." 

This  Light  is  kindly,  and  it  is  very  lovely ;  but  it  is  bright, 
and  man's  spiritual  eye  is  weak.  But  if  not  attaining,  so 
&r  as  I  have  known,  to  a  life  of  closely-sustained  spiritual 
meditation,  the  minds  of  many  are  deeply  impressed  with 
the  tradis  of  religion.     If  not  godly  in  the  lughest  sense, 


76  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

they  are  sincerely  religious.  They  believe  in  Grod,  and 
their  faces  and  hearts  are  turned  towards  Him.  I  have 
been  struck  with  the  touching  manner  in  which  some,  in 
leading  the  prayers  of  the  congregation,  have  besought 
the  help  of  God's  good  Spirit  to  assist  them  in  their  struggle 
with  temper,  habits,  and  passions  which  were  formerly 
unrestrained,  but  are  now  '*  kept  under  "  as  becometh  Chris- 
tians. The  name  ^  Yesu  "  is  a  very  sacred  and  predous 
one  amongst  these  people.  I  have  never  heard  it  lightly  used. 
Few  prayers  are  offered  by  Bechuanas  in  which  the  scrip- 
ture is  not  introduced, — "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he 
gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
him  might  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life."  Even 
the  most  ignorant  of  the  members  of  the  church,  those  who 
have  become  Christians  in  advanced  years,  have  got  &st 
hold  of  a  few  leading  truths.  God  loves  them.  Christ 
died  for  them.  God  will  help  them  if  they  ciy  to  Him. 
They  are  like  lean  scraggy  oxen  that  have  grown  up  unac- 
customed to  the  yoke.  But  at  all  events  they  will  put  that 
yoke  on  their  necks,  and  if  they  cannot  pull  much,  they  will 
at  least  walk  with  the  rest  in  the  team ;  and  they  hope  that 
when  the  journey  is  over  "  Yesu  "  will  allow  them  to  go 
with  the  rest  to  the  green  pastures  and  beside  the  still 
waters  of  the  heavenly  land. 

There  is  usually  at  a  mission  station  of  some  years'  stand- 
ing a  class  of  catechumens  or  inquirers  who  come  to  the 
missionary  once  a  week  for  instruction.  And  here  latitude 
is  given  to  individual  missionaries  as  to  the  method  they 
will  pursue  in  this  important  and  interesting  department 
The  Westminster  Shorter  Catechism  is  used  by  some  at 
these  meetings ;  certain  answers  are  committed  to  memory ; 
and  these  form  the  ground-work  of  the  lesson  of  that  day. 
Another  missionary,  or  the  same  one,  if  the  number  at  the 
time  is  not  great,  will  prefer  to  take  the  inquirers  one  by 


^ 


KURUMAN,  FORMERLY  LATTAKOO,  MISSION.  77 

one,  that  he  may  give  them  the  greater  attention.  During  my 
stay  at  Kuruman,  and  often  when  travelling,  and  spending 
the  night  at  some  village  or  cattle-post  in  South  Bechu- 
ana-land,  has  a  person  come,  usually,  like  Nicodemus,  in 
the  dusk  of  the  evening,  and  taking  me  aside,  made  known 
his  thoughts  on  the  most  momentous  subjects,  his  hopes 
and  his  fears.  At  an  old-established  station  I  have  known 
some  to  come  because  it  was  expected  of  them ;  but  I  have 
also  met  with  others  whose  whole  attitude  was  expressed 
in  the  words, "  Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus."  I  have  seen  men 
very  deeply  moved  during  those  interviews.  Although  they 
are  taught  to  suppress  such  demonstrations,  the  unbidden 
tear  would  sometimes  fall  silently  but  not  unseen  by  Him 
of  whom  we  spoke.  When  I  was  travelling,  such  interviews 
usually  took  place  at  the  side  of  the  waggon — ^the  children 
being  now  inside  and  the  sail  shut,  while  the  servants 
were  seated  round  the  camp  fire,  the  light  of  which  dimly 
shone  on  us.  One  or  two  of  my  dogs,  if  not  barking  at  the 
prowling  jackal  or  hyena,  would  nestle  close  to  my  feet, 
mute  witnesses  of  the  highest  service  to  God  and  to  men 
which  man  can  tmdertake  in  this  world — ^the  divine  work 
of  the  evangelist. 

Those  who  introduce  Christianity  into  a  certain  region 
occupy  a  most  influential  position.  Their  type  of  piety, 
their  mode  of  thought  and  administration,  will  be  copied 
by  their  disciples.  So  long  as  the  original  Christian  spirit 
is  present  in  the  copy  there  is  nothing  to  reprehend.  But 
the  slavish  following  out  of  the  letter  when  the  spirit  has 
fled  would  seem  to  explain  many  of  the  abuses  which  have 
been  perpetuated  in  the  Christian  Church.  The  class  of 
catechumens,  originally  pervaded  by  deep  spirituality,  may 
d^enerate  into  a  mere  formal  examination,  by  means  of 
which  so  much  knowledge  will  command  a  certain  position 
m  the  church.     And  by  continually  lowering  its  standard 


78  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

a  church  may  come  to  be  so  constituted  that  every  citizen 
is  potentially  a  member.  Again,  the  first  preachers,  in  a 
simple  and  natural  manner,  retire  into  privacy  with  the 
individual  inquirer,  and  direct  him  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  pra3ring  with  him  and  for  him.  But  in  the  history 
of  that  church  the  humble  elder  or  presbyter  may  come  to 
be  succeeded  by  the  priest  and  father-confessor,  who  teach 
the  inquirer  to  trust,  not  in  Christy  but  in  the  Church  as 
represented  by  its  ministers,  and  who  profess  to  hold  in 
their  hands  the  destinies  of  the  living  and  the  dead.  Bap- 
tism, originally  administered  to  converts  and  their  children, 
may  come  to  be  administered  to  every  child  who  is  bom  in 
a  certain  country,  and  '*  christening  "  be  looked  upon  by 
many  as  not  more  sacred  than  vaccination. 

There  is  a  circumstance  of  a  very  striking  character  con- 
nected with  the  Christian  life  of  the  Bechuanas  which  I 
must  not  forget  to  mention,  inasmuch  as  it  would  seem  to 
teach  an  important  lesson  for  future  guidance.  There  is  an 
old  Scotch  sa3dng  which  I  have  always  r^arded  as  singu- 
larly bold  and  somewhat  inexplicable : — ^  The  nearer  the 
kirk,  the  fSetrther  frae  grace.^  Under  whatever  circum- 
stances this  saying  originated,  a  somewhat  analogous  state- 
ment might  be  made  with  reference  to  Bechuana<land  at  the 
present  time.  Excluding  heathen  men  altogether,  and 
confining  our  observation  to  professing  Christians,  the  best 
specimens  are  not  to  be  found  on  the  station  of  the  Euro- 
pean missionary,  but  at  out-«tations  occasionally  visited  by 
hiuL  On  the  mission-station,  the  learning,  the  skill,  the 
higher  civilisation  of  the  Europeans  become  overwhelming, 
almost  repelling,  to  the  native  Christian.  An  attitude  of 
reverent  wonder  and  ready  assent  becomes  habitual  to  him. 
The  question  with  him  comes  to  be,  not  so  much  what  does 
the  Bible  say,  as  what  does  the  teacher  say;  he  does  not 
seek  to  think  for  himself :  the  missionaiy  thinks  for  h™ 


KUKUMAN,  FOKMERLY  LATTAKOO,  MISSION.  79 

And  in  listening  to  the  public  preaching,  as  well  as  in  read- 
ing the  words  of  Scripture,  the  attitude  is  exactly  that 
which  Bishop  Butler  describes  in  his  preface  to  his  Ser- 
mons:— '^People  habituate  themselves  to  let  things  pass 
through  their  minds,  as  one  may  speak,  rather  than  to 
think  of  them.  Thus  by  use  they  become  satisfied  merely 
jritb.  seeing  what  is  said,  without  going  any  further.  Re- 
view and  attention,  and  even  forming  a  judgment,  becomes 
fisttigue;  and  to  lay  anything  before  them  that  requires  it, 
is  putting  them  quite  out  of  their  way."  Of  course  all  this 
very  much  depends  upon  the  personal  character  and  dispo- , 
sition  of  the  missionaries.  Where  there  is  a  very  strong 
will  and  great  resource  and  determination,  as  well  as 
genuine  benevolence  on  the  part  of  the  spiritual  guide,  the 
dependence  of  the  people  will  sometimes  be  carried  to  a 
great  extreme.  On  the  other  hand,  where  there  are  a  few 
Christians  under  the  care  of  a  native  schoolmaster,  more 
independent  thought  is  begotten.  The  Bible  is  the  court 
of  appeal  It  is  studied  with  some  amount  of  intelligence. 
From  its  armoury  they  obtain  weapons  for  defence  against 
the  snares  of  surrounding  heathenism.  The  office  of  native 
teacher  in  these  circumstances  is  no  sinecure.  The  man  must 
know  his  Bible  at  least  so  as  to  explain  it  to  his  little 
flock.  And  after  he  has  done  his  best,  his  explanation  is 
sometimes  not  satisfactory ;  so  a  journey  is  undertaken  by 
him  or  by  some  of  his  flock  to  the  neighbouring  European 
mission  station  to  obtain  a  solution  of  the  knotty  points 
under  discussion.  The  fact  of  the  undoubted  superiority 
of  Bechuana  Christians,  not  directly  under  European  influ- 
ence, is  quite  opposed  to  the  idea  that  the  success  of  Euro- 
pean missionaries  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  influence  of 
a  superior  over  an  inferior  race.  From  what  I  have  seen  I 
am  deeply  eonvinced  that  it  is  the  power  of  Jesus  Christ  in 
His  gospel  which  overcomes  men ;  and  that  by  standing  as 


.> 


80  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

it  were  in  the  way  of  this  specific  agency,  the  European 
missionary  may  even  retard  and  deteriorate  the  work. 

And  here  we  have  suggested  the  importance  of  trained 
native  agency,  which,  considering  the  number  of  years  it 
has  been  established,  is  perhaps  the  weak  point  of  the  Bechu- 
ana  mission.  The  success  of  the  Griqua  mission  is  largely  to 
be  ascribed  to  the  diligence  and  tact  with  Which  the  energiee 
of  the  more  promising  natives  were  thus  guided.  As  early  as 
1834  two  natives  were  employed  at  Kuruman,  and  others 
were  subsequently  appointed  to  surrounding  districts.  In 
1842  a  missionary  then  newly  arrived  in  Bechuana-land 
thus  writes  on  this  subject : — "  At  present  the  state  of  the 
mission  here  is  very  promising  regarding  native  agents 
employed  in  teaching  and  addressing.  Six  such  men  are 
now  connected  with  the  Kuruman.  It  is  truly  delightful 
to  observe  the  fervent  zeal  of  these  godly  men.  It  is 
the  imperative  duty  of  all  of  us  to  raise  up  and  instruct 
such  men  as  far  as  possible.'' 

All  the  schoolmasters  mentioned  were  trained  by  Mr. 
Moffat  at  Kuruman,  and  some  of  them  continue  to  do 
worthy  service  in  the  country.  But  they  would  seem  to 
have  had  few  or  no  successors ;  and  a  seminary  for  native 
preachers  in  Bechuana-land,  although  oftefi  projected,  was 
never  fairly  established.  And  so  in  1868  we  have  not 
such  an  encouraging  view  as  in  1842.  In  1868  a  mis- 
sionary writes  from  a  station  in  South  Bechuana-land  : — 
''The  educational  department  of  the  mission  has  been 
kept  in  the  background.  The  youth  have  simk  back  for 
want  of  a  continued  course  opened  up  to  them.  The 
village  schoolmasters,  uneducated  themselves,  and  mostly 
unpaid,  make  but  a  feeble  impression."  The  Directors  of 
the  Society  are  about  to  establish  a  seminary  for  training 
native  youths  in  Bechuana-land ;  and  if,  with  higher  train- 
ing, they  will  only  imitate  some  of  the  present  teachers  as 


1 


KURUMAN,  FORMERLY  LATTAKOO,  MISSION.  81 

to  diligence  and  zeal,  the  result  will  be  all  that  could  be 
desired. 

On  every  mission  station  there  are  some  who  refuse  the 
gospel ;  and  occasionally  others  who,  having  made  a  pro- 
fession of  religion,  sink  back  into  evil  ways.     Thus  the 
old  opposing  elements  of  "  the  church"  and  "  the  world  " 
are  to  be  found  everywhere.     Now  it  is  certain,  the  more 
you  teach  a  bad  person  without  his  character  becoming 
changed,  the  more  powerful  you  make  him  for  evil ;  and 
the  knowledge  obtained  on  a  mission  station  is  occasionally 
thus  abused.    I  have  once  or  twice  heard  the  remark,  '^  The 
servants  from  such  and  such  a  station  are  the  worst  in  the 
country;   they  are  much  worse   than   heathen."     Upon 
inquiry  you  find  the  remark  is  made  in  connection  with 
somebody  who,  in  his  own  little  village,  is  a  "thorn  in 
the  flesh"  to  the  Christian  community,  and  who  is  surely 
not  to  be  taken  as  in  any  way  representing  them.     The 
character  of  men  and  of  communities  is  ever  changing ;  and 
Christianity,  while  she  offers  her  blessings  to  aU,  sets  her 
imprimatur  only  on  those  who  obey  her  precepts.     In  order 
to  find  out  the  value  of  Christianity,  the  comparison  must 
be  instituted  not  only  between  the  members  of  the  church 
and  the  heathen  in  a  distant  part  of  the  country,  but 
between  them  and  their  neighbours  who  refuse  the  gospel. 
There  are  certain  villages  in   Bechuana-land  where   the 
gospel  has  been  seldom  preached,  and  where  the  people 
are  bitterly  opposed  to  it.    At  the  same  time  the  influences 
of  civilisation  and  commerce  by  themselves  have  been  fiilly 
felt  in  these  places ;  and  here,  as  on  the  mission  station, 
the  old  power  of  the  chiefs  has  been  greatly  diminished. 
What  is  the  character  of  these  villages  ?    They  are  in  the 
country  what  the  opposing  and  reprobate  man  is  on  a 
mission  station.     There  is  one  especially  on  the  highway 
to  the  interior  where  the  inhabitants  practise  the  only 

F 


*  ^  ^  ^  r  J 


* 
J  1 


82 


NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 


approach  to  highway  robbery  of  which  I  have  heard  in 
Bechuana-land ;  and  travellers  are  heartily  glad  when  they 
have  passed  this  place  without  losing  any  oxen.  The 
village  to  which  I  now  refer  is  within  sight  of  a  .mission 
station ;  but  its  inhabitants,  or  perhaps  rather  its  chiefs, 
have  strenuously  resisted  the  often-proffered  services  of 
Christian  evangelists. 

I  was  standing  one  Sunday  at  the  door  of  a  church  in 
Bechuana-land  after  the  service  was  over,  following  with 
my  eye  the  people  as  they  wended  their  way  to  their  homes. 
Musing  on  the  change  which  had  already  taken  place  in 
them,  the  great  difference  in  the  world  of  thought  and 
idea  in  which  they  were  now  living  as  compared  with  their 
forefathers,  I  went  on  to  think  of  the  littleness  of  one 
man's  life  when  viewed  alongside  any  of  Grod's  great  pro- 
cesses. How  many  ages  had  revolved  before  the  gospel 
had  reached  them !  My  meditations  were  interrupted  by 
the  approach  of  an  English  trader,  whose  lumbering 
waggon  had  just  unyoked  in  the  quiet  village.  After  the 
usual  salutations,  and  following  my  eye,  which  was  still 

upon  the  retreating  people,  Mr. remarked — 

^^  I'm  a&aid  this  is  slow  work,  Mr.  Mackemda" 
**Well,  in  one  sense  you  are  quite  right,"  I  replied. 
^  The  history  of  our  own  native  land  leads  us  to  expect 
that."  Glancing  at  his  handsome  face,  and  the  beard 
which  he  was  then  caressing,  I  added,  ^  Say  that  you  and 
I  are  near  to  perfection,  ^finished  specimens'  of  what 
civilisation  and  refinement,  as  well  as  religion,  can  acoom* 
plish,  we  must  remember  two  things  :  that  'good  people* 
are  still  proverbially  scarce  in  our  own  country,  and  that  it 
has  taken  a  long  time  to  bring  humanity  to  the  elevated 
position  which  Englishmen  occupy!  But  come ;  how  long 
will  you  give  these  people,  through  Christianity,  and  the 
commingling  of  races,  and  the  aid  of  peaceful  commerce^ 


KUKUMAN,  FORMERLY  LATTAKOO,  MISSION.  83 

with  perhaps  the  sterner  discipline  of  war — ^how  long  will 
70U  give  these  Bechoanas  of  the  discipline  by  which  the 
Almighty  educates  nations,  before  they  will  produce  our 
equals  1" 

"  But  will  they  not  die  out  in  the  process  1 " 

"  Not  they.  During  the  first  shock  of  the  revolution  in 
their  habits  there  may  be  many  lives  lost  But  these 
people  are  not  like  the  Red  Indians  :  they  will  change  with 
changing  times,  and  live." 

**  Well,  they  might  get  on,  perhaps,"  replied  my  com- 
panion, *^  were  it  not  for  their  colour  and  ungainly  features." 

^  They  will  get  on  in  spite  of  the  colour.  They  are 
sharp  enough,  as  every  one  knows  who  has  been  in  the 
countiy.  And  who  knows  the  future  colour  of  South 
Africans  1  Even  at  present  you  are  aware  that  many  of 
our  fellow-countrymen,  whatever  they  may  say  in  English 
society  to  the  contrary,  do  not  find  colour  so  very  repulsiva 
And  we  have  not  yet  fairly  tried  the  effect  of  shelter  from 
the  weather,  with  good  food,  industrious  habits,  and  a  pure 
Christian  heart,  upon  even  the  features  of  the  people." 

**  Well,  sir,  you  are  very  sanguine,"  said  my  friend,  bid- 
ding me  good-evening. 

^  €rod  is  merciful,  and  the  ages  are  long,"  I  replied,  as 
we  parted. 

I  was  now  alone.  The  evening  sun  scattered  its  brilliant 
rays  over  village  and  country-side,  and  by  and  bye  seemed 
to  come  down  and  kiss  the  mountain  range  before  me.  So 
let  Thy  gospel,  O  Qod^  come  to  all  races  of  people  in  the 
land,  and  bind  them  together  in  kindliness  and  fellow- 
feeUng ! 


CHAPTER    VL 

BATLAPING  MISSIONS  AT  TAUNG  AND  LIEATLONG. 

TAUNG. 

The  Batlaping  tribe  of  Bechuanas,  among  whom  the 
Lattakoo  mission  was  commenced,  removed  from  Kuroinan 
a  few  years  after  the  establishment  of  the  mission  there, 
leaving  behind  at  that  station  a  few  members  of  a  subject 
tribe  called  Bachwene,  whose  numbers  were  increased  by 
occasional  stragglers  from  other  tribes.  The  Batlaping 
were  for  many  years  without  a  resident  missionary — those 
under  Mothibe  at  Likatlong  and  along  the  bank  of  the 
Vaal  river  being  visited  by  the  missionaries  of  Griqua  Town; 
while  the  other  divisions  of  the  tribe  were  connected  with 
Kuruman  as  out-stations.  At  length,  in  1843,  the  spiritual 
oversight  of  the  Batlaping  residing  at  Taung  was  under- 
taken by  Mr.  Boss,  who  joined  the  Bechuana  mission  at 
the  same  time  as  Dr.  Livingstone.  He  then  undertook 
what  has  proved  a  most  arduous  and  trying  mission.  The 
same  difficulties  which  were  encountered  in  earlier  times  at 
Lattakoo,  in  connection  with  the  opposition  of  the  chief 
and  head  men,  were  now  met  with  by  Mr.  Boss.  When 
the  tribe  removed  from  Taung  to  Mamusa,  their  missionary 
patiently  accompanied  them,  beginning  over  again  the 
labour  of  raising  another  church  and  dwelling-house.  But 
when  it  pleased  the  fickle  chief  Mahure,  after  a  few  years 
residence,  to  return  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Taung,  Mr. 
Boss,  now  considerably  advanced  in  years,  took  up  his  resi- 


BATLAPING  MISSION  AT  TAUNG.  .  85 

dence  first  at*6riqua  Town,  and  afterwards  at  Likatlong, 
while  he  regularly  itinerated  among  his  former  charge. 
After  the  departure  of  Mr.  Helmore  for  England,  and  again 
for  the  Makololo  country,  Mr.  Ross,  who  now  resided  at 
Likatlong  as  a  head  station,  carried  on  his  itinerancies 
throughout  the  united  districts  of  Likatlong  and  Taung. 
The  unwearied  labours  of  this  evangelist  and  pastor  were 
brought  to  a  close  by  death  in  1863.  His  last  illness  was 
protracted,  but  the  ruling  passion  of  his  life  was  strong  even 
in  death ;  and  to  the  last  he  encouraged  and  exhorted  those 
about  him  to  put  their  confidence  in  the  Saviour.  The 
career  of  Mr.  Boss  affords  great  encouragement  to  Christian 
young  men  in  humble  life.  If  David  Livingstone  was  a 
cotton-spinner,  William  Eoss,  his  companion  in  the  voyage 
and  journey  to  Bechuana-land  in  1842,  once  followed  the 
plough  in  the  Carse  of  Gowrie,  and  afterwards  served  an 
apprenticeship  as  a  house-carpenter.  As  the  cotton-spinner 
qualified  himself  at  Glasgow  University  to  pass  his  exami- 
nations and  to  take  his  diploma  as  a  doctor  of  medicine,  so 
the  ploughman  and  carpenter,  aided  by  a  kindly  and  genial- 
minded  parish  minister,  who  is  still  alive,  passed  his  uni- 
versity course  at  St.  Andrews,  and  afterwards  his  theolo- 
gical curriculum  in  Edinburgh.  Possessed  of  a  liberal 
education,  and  occupying  the  position  of  a  licentiate  of  one 
of  the  Presbyterian  Churches  in  Scotland,  he  offered  him- 
self to  the  London  Missionary  Society,  having  been,  in  point 
of  fact,  with  others  "  enlisted  "  for  the  Bechuana  mission  by 
the  eloquent  and  earnest  appeals  of  Mr.  Moffat,  when  on  a 
visit  to  Scotland.  While  Mr.  Ross's  name  and  career  are 
comparatively  unknown  in  England,  both  are  familiar  in 
every  hamlet  of  the  extensive  district  where  he  laboured. 

It  having  been  represented  to  the  Directors  of  the  Society 
that  Mr.  Ross's  successor  should  if  possible  be  a  man  of  ex- 
perience and  sound  judgment,  they  requested  Mr.  Ashton 


86  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

to  remove  from  Kuruman,  where  he  had  laboured  for  more 
than  twenty  years,  and  to  take  the  oversight  of  these 
frontier  stations.  This  wide  field  has  been  again  sub- 
divided, and  Mr.  Brown,  who  joined  the  Bechuana  mission 
in  1865,  has  the  oversight  of  theTaung  district,  while  that 
of  Likatlong  remains  in  charge  of  Mr.  Ashton. 

In  1857-8  the  Batlaping  were  involved  in  war  with  the 
Free  State  and  Transvaal  Bepublic.  On  this  occasion  the 
natives  were  clearly  the  aggressors.  While  the  Free  State 
was  at  war  with  Moshesh,  Kousop,  the  chief  of  a  small 
Bushman  village  within  the  boundary  of  the  Free  State, 
taking  advantage  of  the  unprotected  condition  of  the  home- 
steads of  the  Dutch  farmers  in  his  neighbourhood,  attacked 
several  dwellings,  killing  women  and  children,  and  stealing 
the  personal  property  from  the  houses,  as  well  as  live  stock 
from  the  fields.  When  he  had  amassed  a  considerable 
booty,  Kousop  crossed  the  Vaal  into  Bechuana-land,  where 
he  was  allowed  to  reside  by  Gasibonwe,  who  was  by  birth 
paramount  chief  of  the  Batlaping.  The  example  of  Kousop 
was  followed  by  Pobuetsile,  the  son  of  Gasibonwe,  and  by 
Boyong,  his  brother.  Motlabane,  chief  of  the  Bamairi,  a 
neighbouring  tribe,  also  made  raids  into  the  Free  State  and 
Transvaal  Meeting  with  little  or  no  opposition,  these 
freebooters  returned  to  their  villages,  after  a  few  days' 
absence,  mounted  on  fine  horses,  and  driving  live  stock  of 
all  kinds.  But  the  day  of  reckoning  came.  As  soon  as 
men  could  be  spared  for  the  purpose,  a  party  of  Dutch- 
men was  sent  against  Kousop,  who  was  himself  killed  and 
his  tribe  completely  broken  up.  Pohuetsile,  acting  on  the 
aggressive,  endeavoured  to  surround  a  division  of  the  Dutch 
force,  but  his  men  were  scattered,  and  he  himself  was 
killed.  Gasibonwe  and  Motlabane  were  also  defeated,  and 
the  former  was  shot  and  beheaded  by  the  Dutchmen.  By 
this  time,  however,  the  desultory  fighting  had  reached 


BATLAPING  MISSION  AT  TAUNG.  87 

Taung,  the  residence  of  Mabure;  the  chief  of  the  largest 
division  of  the  Batlaping  tribe.  Mahure  had  discoun- 
tenanced the  raids,  and  none  of  his  people  had  joined  them. 
But  he  was  unable,  and  perhaps  unwilling,  to  deliver  up  to 
the  Dutchmen  the  scattered  members  of  the  guilty  tribes 
who  had  taken  refuge  in  his  town.  The  Dutchmen,  there- 
fore, next  attacked  Taung,  and  after  an  engagement,  in 
which  the  Batlaping  were  again  worsted,  a  treaty  was  made 
between  the  commandants  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  sons 
of  Mahure,  as  representing  their  father,  on  the  other.  It 
was  agreed,  on  behalf  of  Mahure,  that  within  three  months* 
time  he  should  compel  the  marauding  chiefs  to  deliver  up 
all  the  stolen  property  of  the  farmers,  and  should  also  make 
good  to  them  all  their  losses  suffered  on  account  of  the 
war.  No  sum  was  specified  in  this  document,  but  the 
young  chiefs  had  no  hesitation  in  putting  their  mark  on 
the  sheet  of  paper,  and  probably  thought  they  were 
exhibiting  consummate  tact  in  averting  imminent  peril  by 
a  promise  having  reference  to  the  future.  When,  however. 
President  Pretorius,  writing  some  time  after  in  behalf  of 
his  own  subjects,  and  those  of  the  Free  State,  mentioned 
the  amount  of  the  indemnity  which  he  demanded,  the  folly 
of  their  act  became  apparent.  They  promised  to  indemnify 
the  Dutchmen ;  they  now  learned  that  in  order  to  do  so 
they  must  deliver  to  them  8000  cattle,  300  horses,  500 
guns,  and  10  men  who  had  committed  a  certain  murder. 
It  was  probably  known  to  President  Pretorius,  who  is 
familiar  with  the  intertribal  distinctions  which  obtain 
among  the  Bechuanas,  that  no  Batlaping  chief  could  compel 
a  levy  of  this  description.  The  alternative,  which  was  that 
the  Dutchmen  should  remunerate  themselves  by  taking 
possession  of  a  portion  of  Batlaping  territory,  was  probably 
looked  forward  to  as  more  desirable,  and  more  likely  to  be 
realized,  than  that  the  fine  should  be  paid.  .  Indeed,  it  soon 


88  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

became  evident  that  the  Dutchmen  intended  next  year  to 
carry  their  operations  as  far  westward  as  Kuruman.     To 
give  a  colouring  of  justice  to  such  a  course  it  was  publicly 
asserted  that  the  missionaries  had  instigated  the  natives  to 
the  late  disturbances,  and  especially  that  the  little  monthly 
paper,  published  at  Kuruman,  was  filled  with  inflamma- 
tory articles.     It  is  needless  to  say  that  these  charges  were 
wholly  unfounded.     On  the   contrary,  the   missionaries 
warned  all  against  the  example  of  Kousop  and  his  followers ; 
and  the  whole  tone  of  the  little  newspaper  would  certainly 
be  approved  of  by  the  Peace  Society.     But  the  glaring 
injustice  of  the  above  charges  will  more  clearly  appear 
when  it  is  stated  that  not  one  of  the  marauding  chiefs  was 
a  Christian ;  not  one  of  the  members  of  village  churches 
followed  their  own  heathen  chiefs  on  these  lawless  raids. 
Jantje,   the   Christian  chief  of  the  Batlaping  village  of 
Likatlong,  denounced  from  the  outset  the  apparently  suc- 
cessful raids  of  Kousop  the  Bushman.     Unlike  his  heathen 
neighbours,  he  so  ruled  his  people  that  not  one  of  them 
became  a  freebooter,  and  not  one  was  involved  in  the  war 
at  Taung.     While  Christian  missionaries  do  not  hold  them- 
selves responsible  for  the  political  relations  of  the  country 
in  which  they  reside,  it  is  surely  an  instructive  fact  that, 
of  the  natives  who  engaged  in  robbery  and  bloodshed  in 
the  Free  State  and  Transvaal,  every  one,  without  exception, 
was  an  opponent  of  Christianity  in  his  own  town  or  village. 
In  these  circumstances,  to  denounce  the  missionaries  as 
being  at  all  blameworthy  is  not  to  be  accounted  for  in  any 
way  that  is  creditable  to  the  community  whose  leaders  and 
public  men   thus  openly  bore  false  witness  against  their 
neighbours.     The    timely  remonstrance   of    Sir   George 
Grey  deterred  the  Dutchmen   from  proceeding   against 
Kuruman  in   1859 ;    but  the  fine  has  never  been  paid 
by  the  Batlaping,  while  the  promise  to  pay  anything,  as 


BATLAPING  MISSION  AT  TAUNG.  89 

signed  by  the  sons  of  Mahure,  is  still  in  the  hands  of 
the  Dutchmen. 

Only  one  of  Mahure's  sons  has  been  baptized.  The 
rest,  with  their  father  (who  died  in  1869)  continued  to 
cling  to  heathenism  themselves,  and  of  course  to  draw 
many  people  with  them.  But  the  life  and  teaching  of  Mr. 
So6s  were  not  without  encouraging  results,  even  under 
those  tmfavourable  circumstances.  If  the  chiefs  have 
not  believed,  many  of  the  common  people  have  done  so. 
When  I  visited  the  station  in  1863,  in  company  with  Mr. 
Boss,  I  had  the  great  pleasure  of  meeting  at  the  table  of 
ihe  Lord  a  considerable  number  who  had  been  gathered 
by  this  most  diligent  evangelist  from  among  the  ranks  of 
the  heathen.  The  apparent  interest  which  one  native 
Christian  shows  in  the  well-being  of  another  is  a  great 
contrast  to  their  former  indifference  as  heathen.  More 
callous-hearted  people  than  Bechuanas,  to  what  does  not 
affect  themselves,  could  not  well  be  imagined ;  and  it  is 
very  gratifying  to  observe  any  indication  that  the  people 
are  learning  "  to  look  not  only  on  their  own  things,  but 
also  on  the  things  of  others."  I  found  in  this  neighbour- 
hood a  small  town  of  Barolongs,  who  had  been  formerly 
under  the  care  of  Mr.  Ludorf,  a  Wesleyan  missionary,  at  a 
station  which  was  broken  up  at  the  same  time  as  Dr. 
Livingstone's,  and  for  the  same  reasons.  Thus  members  of 
tribes  formerly  at  enmity  sat  down  together  at  one  table ; 
and  disciples  of  different  societies  united  in  "  remembering" 
their  common  Lord. 

After  leaving  the  station,  I  passed  the  fountain  called 
Lithakwaning,  where  Masse,  the  Christian  son  of  Mahure, 
has  a  small  village,  and  where  he  has  commenced  to  irri- 
gate a  patch  of  land  as  a  garden  and  corn-field.  It  is  very 
easy  to  talk  about  the  slowness,  the  incapacity,  and  the 
fickleness  of  such  people ;  but  it  is  surely  a  great  change 


90  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

when  the  pursuits  of  agriculture  and  irrigation  take  the 
place  of  drinking  sour  milk  and  trapping  game;  and 
when  from  living  the  unrestrained  life  of  a  heathen,  the 
man's  character  for  purily  and  truthfulness  is  such  as  to 
satisfy  the  missionary  and  the  native  church.  In  the  eyes 
of  his  fellow-countrymen  such  a  person  occupies  a  promi- 
nent position.  He  has  dared  to  change  the  ^  customs,"  and 
yet  no  calamity  happens  to  him  for  the  breach  of  all  that 
the  tribe  held  sacred.  The  water  does  not  refuse  to  flow 
in  his  furrow  although  he  is  a  black  man ;  and  irrigation 
is  here  supposed  to  be  a  custom  practised  only  by  the 
whites.  The  white  men's  fruits  also  grow  in  his  field. 
The  old  people  may  denounce  him,  the  rain-doctor  or 
priest  may  hate  an  innovation  which  sends  the  life-sustain- 
ing rill  of  water  along  the  thirsty  roots  of  the  drooping 
com  and  maize;  but  many  come  to  regard  such  a  man  as  a 
hero,  and  in  their  journeys  into  other  districts  do  not  &il 
to  mention  the  deeds  of  him  who  has  given  himself  to  the 
Word  of  Ood  and  to  the  wisdom  of  the  white  men. 


UKATLONG,  THE  DIAMOND  COUNTRY. 

Likatlong  was  originally  an  out-station  of  Oriqua  Town ; 
and  one  can  imagine  the  extent  of  the  influence  of  the 
Griqua  Town  mission  on  the  surrounding  country  from  the 
fact  that  when,  in  1840,  the  station  of  Likatlong  waa 
handed  over  to  Mr.  Helmore,  190  church-members  were 
committed  to  his  care. 

The  people  of  Likatlong  were  a  branch  of  the  Batlaping 
tribe,  which  broke  up  into  several  sections  not  long  after 
the  date  of  the  establishment  of  Christianity  in  the  country. 
The  power  of  the  new  religion  soon  became  apparent^  In 
the  olden  time  one  or  other  of  these  factions  would  hftve 
swallowed  up  the  rest,  and  the  successful  brother  or  unde. 


BATLAPING  MISSION  AT  LIKATLONG.  9 1 

as  the  case  might  be,  would  have  been  chief  of  the  whole 
tribe.  And  once  under  a  single  head,  the  clan  would 
have  again  become  manageable  for  aggressive  and  for 
drfensive  warfare.  The  separated  condition  of  the  Bat- 
lining,  which  no  doubt  weakened  them  as  one  tribe  and 
restrained  them  to  a  great  extent  firom  aggressive  warfare, 
is  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  beneficial  results  of  a 
doctrine  which  spoke  of  the  love  of  Ood,  which  raised  their 
estimate  of  human  life,  and  pictured  to  their  minds  a  day 
of  future  reckoning.  Thus  Christianity  interfered  with 
the  reconstruction  of  the  model  heathen  town ;  it  caused 
even  Pagan  men  to  pause  and  stop  short  at  the  commis- 
sion of  the  crimes  necessary  to  their  obtaining  command 
over  the  whole  people. 

Jantje,  the  eldest  son  of  Mothibe,  but  by  an  inferior 
wife,  made  a  profession  of  Christianity  at  an  early  period, 
and  has  been  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  church  in 
the  town  where  he  is  also  chief.  He  appeared  to  me  to  be 
a  quiet^  sedate,  .and  amiable  man.  My  first  attempt  at 
administering  medicine  was  made  in  the  case  of  one  of 
Jantje's  sons  who  was  very  ill  with  dysentery,  when  I 
passed  through  the  village  in  May  1859.  My  treatment 
was  veiy  successfid,  while  that  of  the  village  doctors  had 
entirely  £Eiiled.  Jantje,  who  was  described  to  me  as  a  just 
but  not  veiy  generous  man,  was  so  grateful  for  the  restora- 
tion of  his  little  son  to  health  that  he  presented  me  with 
a  sheep  in  acknowledgment  of  my  services.  Thus  my 
introduction  to  Jantje  and  to  the  practice  of  ''simples" 
among  the  Bechuanas  was  a  very  gratifying  one.  Jantje 
spends  a  good  deal  of  his  time  as  a  farmer  at  a  fountain 
called  Manyering,  which  is  about  twenty  miles  from  Kuru- 
man* 

Near  Likatlong,  the  native  gardens  are  usually  not  very 
successful ;  in  a  dry  season  especially  the  people  have  to 


92  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

trast  to  their  flocks  and  herds,  and  to  the  unfailing  motlopi 
for  subsistence.  But  throughout  the  whole  district  irri- 
gation has  been  introduced,  not  indeed  in  a  first-class 
manner,  but  to  the  best  of  the  ability  of  those  to  whom  it 
is  an  entirely  new  custom.  Impossible  things  are  often 
attempted;  and  what  is  accomplished  is  sometimes  done 
in  a  sloTenly  manner.  The  water-fuirow  is  usuaUy  more 
or  less  of  a  zigzag  instead  of  a  straight  line ;  and  the 
gardens  and  arable  land  are  laid  out  in  a  manner  which 
offends  the  eye  of  a  European.  But  it  is  a  tair  beginning ; 
such  gardens  are  a  welcome  sight  to  those  who  wish  well 
to  the  natives. 

Mr.  Ashton,  who  has  recently  had  charge  of  this  mission, 
finding  that  some  traders  were  in  the  habit  of  bringing  in 
brandy  for  their  own  consumption,  and  for  the  purpose  of 
"  treating "  the  native  chiefs,  recently  called  the  members 
of  his  church  together,  and  laid  the  matter  before  them. 
Here  was  a  new  source  of  evil — a  new  and  powerful 
hindrance  to  those  who  wished  truly  to  serve  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  White  men  had  become  accustomed  to  this 
drink ;  but  the  Batlaping  had  not  yet  learned  to  like  it. 
Why  should  they  drink  it  at  all )  It  was  no  part  of  their 
duty  as  Christians  to  do  so.  Although  they  had  received 
many  new  thoughts,  and  many  useful  and  beautiful  articles 
from  the  white  men,  evil  would  be  found  mixed  up  with 
the  good,  and  they  must  be  able  to  choose  the  good  and 
resist  the  evil.  "  I  am  your  teacher,"  said  the  missionary, 
"  and  wish  to  lead  you  into  the  right  and  safe  path.  We  all 
pray,  'Lead  us  not  into  temptation;'  therefore  we  ought 
not  ourselves  to  rush  into  new  temptations  and  dangers.  I 
am  willing  as  your  leader  and  guide  to  promise  not  to  taste 
the  white  man's  drink.  Who  will  join  me,  and  promise 
also  1"  Every  hand  in  the  church-meeting  was  held  up  ; 
every  one  promised  to  refuse  the  drink  himself,  and  to 


BATLAPING  MISSION  AT  UKATLONG.  93 

4jsooarage  others  from  using  or  selling  it.  All  will  join  in 
the  wish  that  this  church  may  be  kept  steadfast  in  the 
performance  of  this  vow. 

The  district  of  likatlong,  in  common  with  other  parts 
of  Bechuansrlandy  was  visited  annually  by  English  traders, 
who  exchanged  European  goods  for  ivory,  ostrich-feathers, 
karosses,  etc     In  the  towns  of  the  Batlaping  shops  had 
been  opened,  where  this  trade  was  regularly  carried  on. 
In  1867  great  excitement  was  created  in  the  colony  by 
the  rumoured  purchase  of  a  diamond  from  a  native  by  one 
of  those  traders ;  and  by  and  bye  it  was  announced  that 
the  gem  in  question  had  been  sold  for  £500  to  his  Excel- 
lency Sir  Philip  Wodehouse,  then  Governor  at  the  Cape. 
The  news  was  at  first  received   with   suspicion.     Could 
anjTthing  worth  while  be  found  in  South  AMca  ?    It  was 
even  announced  that  a  well-known  dealer  in  precious 
stones  had  sent  a  qualified  agent  to  report  on  the  district 
in  question ;  and  that  the  latter  had  positively  denied  the 
existence  of  any  rich  diamond-field  in  the  country.     But 
the  light  of  these  gems   could  not  be  hid.     One  after 
another  was  disposed  of  for  considerable  sums.     For  a 
diamond  which  a  Bushman  had  in  his  possession  a  colonist 
offered  all  the  stock  on  his  farm.     The  offer  was  accepted ; 
the  native  returned  home  a  wealthy  man ;  and  the  colonist 
obtained  in  the  nearest  village  £11,000  for  this  gem.     A 
native  woman,  making  some  repairs  on  her  premises,  dug 
up  a  diamond  with  her  "  kepo  "  or  sharp-pointed  piece  of 
wood,  for  which  her  husband  obtained  a  waggon,  oxen, 
and  load  of  goods.     Nothing  which  had  taken  place  in 
their  previous  contact  with  Europeans  was  more  wonder- 
fiil  to  the  natives  than  this.     "  Who  can  understand  you 
white  men  1"  was  now  the  general  remark.     "  You  first 
dear  off*  the  elephants  for  the  sake  of  the  ivory,  and  the 
ostriches  for  their  feathers ;  and  when  you  have  swept  the 


94  NOBTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  BIVEK. 

country  clean  as  to  what  is  above  ground,  you  then  proceed 
to  find  treasures  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth." 

There  being  no  longer  any  doubt  of  the  reality  and 
importance  of  the  discovery,  the  frontier  towns  were  soon 
deserted  of  their  floating  population.  Parties  were  formed 
in  more  distant  colonial  towns.  Government  servants 
obtained  leave  of  absence;  men  of  business  deserted  their 
offices  and  shops.  All  sorts  of  conveyances  were  placed 
under  contribution — ^from  the  ox-waggon  to  the  light 
horse-cart,  which  is  the  South  African  express.  The  con- 
tagion spread  to  England,  and  a  new  line  of  steamers  is 
advertised  at  reduced  bres.  Meanwhile  what  took  place 
in  California  and  Australia  has  been  ^lacted  on  the  silent 
and  solitary  banks  of  theVaal  river.  Where  afewmonths 
ago  there  was  only  a  scattered  native  population,  with  per^ 
haps  a  dozen  Europeans,  there  are  now  nearly  10,000 
people. 

I  believe  the  mode  of  procedure  at  the  diamond-fields  is 
as  follows : — ^A  "  claim" — ^that  is  a  piece  of  ground — is 
marked  off  under  the  sanction  of  the  provisional  govern- 
ment. The  pick  and  the  shovel  are  used  to  loosen  the  soil, 
and  to  collect  it  into  a  heap.  The  large  stones  are  re- 
moved at  once,  and  the  sand  separated  by  means  of  a  fine 
sieve.  These  processes  are  generally  performed  early  in 
the  morning,  sometimes  by  the  light  of  the  wood  fire. 
The  residuum  consists  chiefly  of  pebbles,  among  which 
may  be  found  rock-crystals,  agates,  jaspers,  quartnte, 
garnet,  spinel,  peridot^  and  blue  corundum.  It  being  now 
necessary  to  use  water  in  the  search  for  the  diamond,  a 
vehicle  of  some  kind  is  brought  into  requisition,  and  the 
pebbles  are  conveyed  to  the  washing-place  on  the  bank  of 
the  river,  which  is  connected  with  the  daim.  A  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  material  having  been  removed  during  the 
imperfect  light  of  the  early  morning,  the  most  exciting 


BATLAPING  MISSION  AT  LIKATLONG.  95 

work  of  the  day  commences  when  the  bright  African  sun 
has  made  his  appearance.  The  washing  is  performed  by 
means  of  a  "cradle"  or  a  **long  tom" — ^articles  whose 
names  are  familiar  to  gold-diggers  as  well  as  diamond- 
seekers, — and  which,  as  used  by  the  latter,  consist  each  of 
two  sieves,  the  upper  one  having  holes  about  half  an  inch 
in  diameter,  while  the  under  one  is  made  so  as  to  detain 
a  diamond  of  about  half  a  carat  The  ^  cradle"  is  used 
by  solitary  workers;  the  **long  tom,"  being  a  larger 
implement^  is  employed  by  companies  working  a  claim 
together.  After  the  washing  has  been  performed  the 
^sorting"  process  begins.  A  rude  table  has  been  con- 
structed upon  which  the  pebbles  are  placed.  The  novice 
performs  the  sorting  slowly  and  carefully ;  but  the  experi- 
enced worker,  whose  eye  has  been  trained  by  practice, 
goes  through  the  operation  with  great  rapidity.  With  a 
small  shovel  or  scoop  he  conveys  a  quantity  of  pebbles  to 
the  table.  One  glance,  one  touch  with  the  hand,  to  expose 
all  parts  of  the  heap,  and,  if  it  is  rejected,  he  sweeps  it  off 
at  once  and  another  heap  takes  its  place.  But  if  the  welcome 
Mid  tmmistakeable  gleam  of  the  diamond  is  discovered  by 
the  eager  eye  of  the  seeker,  it  is  carefully  and  tenderly  picked 
oat  and  placed  in  his  own  or  the  company's  purse.  And 
so  hour  after  hour  and  day  after  day  men  work  at  this 
wonderftil  lottery,  heedless  alike  of  the  cold  of  the  winter 
morning  and  the  fierce  heat  of  the  summer  noon ;  at  one 
time  heated  by  wielding  the  pick  and  spade ;  at  another 
shivering  over  the  washing  and  sorting ;  for  one  "  find " 
would  more  than  repay  all  their  toil,  and  might  make  them 
possessors  of  ^  a  fortune." 

Canvas  towns  have  sprung  up.  Stores,  brandy-shops,  a 
newspaper,  billiard-rooms,  and  other  signs  of  '^  civilisation" 
are  now  to  be  found.  Ministers  of  religion  visit  the  dig- 
gings for  the  purpose  of  preaching.     In  one  of  the  late 


96  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

colonial  papers  it  was  aimoanced  that  the  President  of  one 
of  the  neighbouring  states,  laying  aside  for  the  time  the 
cares  of  office,  had  embarked  in  the  exciting  career  of  the 
diamond-seeker.^ 

Of  course  there  is  a  dispute  about  the  ownership  of  the 
country.  The  Korannas  and  the  Bechuanas,  the  Griquas 
under  Waterboer,  the  Free  State  under  President  Brand, 
and  the  Transvaal  under  President-  Pretorius,  all  lay  claim 
to  the  district.  The  diggers  do  not  care  much  about  the 
politics  of  the  country,  provided  they  get  the  diamonds. 
But  the  general  feeling  seemed  to  be  that  England  would 
extend  the  northern  boundary  of  the  colony. 

As  to  the  part  of  the  country  north  of  the  Yaal,  and 
near  to  Likatlong,  Jantje,  the  chief,  undertakes  to  prove 
that  it  belongs  to  him,  and  that  the  other  inhabitants  asked 
and  obtained  his  permission  to  occupy  their  present  posi- 
tion. We  shall  see  what  the  event  will  be  with  reference 
to  this  now  valuable  tract  of  country — ^whether  an  upri^t 
Christian  chief  like  Jantje  of  Likatlong,  whose  past  career 
is  without  a  single  blot,  whether  judged  by  his  English  or 
by  his  Dutch  neighbours,  will  be  quietly  ignored  on  account 
of  the  smallness  of  his  tribe,  by  whatever  goyemment 
eventually  assumes  sway  over  this  district,  or  whether  the 
fact  of  his  ownership  or  former  occupancy  of  the  country 
will  be  recognised.     To  say  that  he  shall  retain  it  and  rule 

^  The  foUowing  w  a  diamond-seeker's  outfit,  as  given  in  a  colonial 
paper : — **  A  Scotch  cart ;  waggon  axles  ;  a  long  torn ;  three  sheets  of 
iron  (heavy) ;  tools  of  all  sorts,  not  forgetting  braces  and  bits  ;  a  pomp 
(those  made  by  S.  Ford  are  very  good  for  the  purpose) ;  4  lbs.  each  of  1| 
and  2  inch  screws ;  4  lbs.  each  of  2  and  8  inch  nails ;  four  or  five  hoes 
(strongest  make);  ten  12-inch  planks,  20  feet  long ;  English  leather,  about  two 
or  three  feet  square  for  making  buckets  for  pump ;  six  light  picks,  double- 
pointed  (Ck>llin8'  make  if  possible) ;  six  8-foot  shovels,  round  steel  blades  ; 
5  lbs.  of  tacks,  commonly  called  clouts ;  8  lbs.  of  cast-steel  for  re-pointing 
picks ;  crowbar ;  one  bolt  of  canvas ;  three  or  four  buckets ;  three  pro- 
specting  dishes.  The  articles  are  best  put  together  at  the  fields,  and  the 
above  materials  can  be  best  purchased  in  the  colony." 


V 


BATLAPING  MISSION  AT  LIKATLONG. 


97 


over  it  would  be  to  talk  nonsense ;  to  say  that  because  he 
is  too  weak  to  compel  recognition  he  shall  receive  none  in 
any  form,  would  be  dishonourable  in  the  extreme.  Jantje 
himself  some  time  ago  addressed  the  Governor  at  the 
Cape  on  the  subject,  and  there  is  no  doubt  of  his  pre- 
ference that  the  government  of  the  country  should  be 
assumed  by  England.  Let,  then,  this  man's  rights  of  pro- 
perty be  recognised  in  some  appropriate  way ;  let  private 
property  in  land  and  fountains  be  respected  throughout 
the  district;  let  English  justice  be  administered  at  the 
expense  of  the  district  by  qualified  English  magistrates; 
and  then  let  the  meeting  of  the  races  go  on,  and  their  set- 
tling down  together  in  the  same  country.  Another  hun- 
dred years'  growth  in  Christianity  and  civilisation  before 
the  rush  of  Europeans  took  place  would  have  made  these 
Bechuanas  capable  of  occupying  a  higher  position  than  they 
can  do  at  present — only  one  generation  removed  from  the 
sleep  of  Paganism.  But  if  they  cannot  occupy  high  and 
distinguished  posts  where  the  races  commingle,  they  must 
just  do  that  of  which  they  are  capable.  It  is  at  least 
gratifying  to  find  that  they  can  abide  the  shock  of  this 
social  revolution. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

JOURNEY  INTO  THE  INTERIOR. 

We  left  Knruman  on  our  way  to  the  Makololo  country 
on  the  25th  May   1860.      Some  of  the  men  who   had 
accompanied  Dr.  Livingstone  in  his  journeys  to  the  distant 
interior  were  natives  of  Kuruman  and  its  neighbourhood ; 
and  as  they  took  care  not  to  understate  the   privations 
which  they  had  endured  on  the  road  we  were  about  to  take, 
I  had  at  first  some  difficulty  in  hiring  suitable  men.   Thoee 
also  who  had  good  waggons  were  reluctant  to  part  with 
them  for  such  a  length  of  time.     Mr.  Helmore  had  engaged 
a  native  to  follow  him  with  a  load  of  necessaries  for  the 
new  mission ;  but  this  person  had  not  fulfilled  his  engage- 
ment^ and  the  goods  were  still  at  Kuruman.      It  being 
thus  absolutely  necessary  that  I  should  convey  suppUee 
to  Messrs.  Helmore  and  Price,  I  was  compelled  to  avail 
myself  of  such  waggons  as  were  procurable.     These  were 
old  and  veiy  rickety,  and  were  a  source  of  annoyance  to 
me  during  the  whole  journey.     Then  in  my  inexperience 
of  such  wretched  vehicles,  and  with  the  desire  to  cany  in 
as  much  as  I  could  for  my  friends,  I  so  overloaded  them 
that  one  actually  broke  down  altogether,  and  had  to  be  left 
behind.      Taking  warning,  I  lightened  the  others  while 
still  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kuruman. 

I  had  got  thoroughly  interested  in  the  work  of  the 
Kuruman  station,  and  was  gratified  by  the  good  wishes 


k 


JOUIINEY  INTO  THE  INTERIOB.  99 

whicli  were  expressed  on  all  hands  when  we  left.  Two 
promising  boys,  then  at  school,  pnt  into  my  hand  each  a 
little  note  full  of  affection  and  earnestly-expressed  prayers. 
Sirs.  Mofiat  and  her  daughters  kindly  accompanied  ns  as 
far  .6  Klein  Chwai,  where  we  spent  a  peaceful  and  very 
happy  Sunday  together,  before  taking  what  we  then 
thought  might  be  a  last  farewell  At  that  time  we 
cherished  the  hope  that  should  an  available  port  for  com- 
merce be  found  by  Dr.  Livingstone  on  the  east  coast  it 
mig^t  be  possible  for  us,  in  the  course  of  time,  to  communi- 
cate with  England  by  that  route,  which  would  be  much 
nearer  than  by  way  of  the  Capo  Colony. 

Among  the  dozen  men  composing  my  party  there  were 
representatives  of  several  races.  I  had  Mebalwe,  who  was 
for  some  time  Livingstone's  assistant,  and  who  shared  with 
the  Doctor  the  wounds  and  the  danger  in  the  encounter 
with  the  lion  at  Mabotsa.  I  found  him  a  most  valuable  and 
trustworthy  man,  whose  years  and  experience  commanded 
respect  £rom  the  rest  of  the  party.  Then  there  were 
several  Bechuanas,  one  Hottentot  from  the  Colony,  otie 
6riq[ua>  a  Kaffir  woman,  who  was  the  wife  of  one  of  the 
m^i  and  Mrs.  Mackenzie's  servant.  The  spare  oxen 
were  driven  by  Furu,  a  Bushman,  whose  master  or  owner 
was  the  driver  of  my  own  waggon.  I  agreed  with  his 
master  about  Furu's  wages,  which  I  made  higher  than 
usual,  upon  condition  that  he  should  not  only  drive  on  the 
looee  cattle,  but  as  soon  as  the  waggons  were  xmyoked, 
coIleGt  and  herd  the  whole  troop  together.  By  this 
arrangement  I  was  saved  a  great  deal  of  trouble  on  my 
northward  journey;  and  my  cattle  did  not  stray  once 
between  Kuruman  and  the  Botletle  river.  No  matter  at 
what  hour  the  night's  journey  was  finished,  or  how  dense 
the  jungle  round  our  encampment,  Furu  was  always  at  his 
post,  collected  the  wearied  and  hungry  oxen,  and  whistling 


100  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

cheerfully  to  them  drove  them  in  a  body  for  an  hour's 
grazing,  after  which  he  brought  them  close  up  to  the 
waggonS;  and  then  himself  had  the  luxury  of  joining  the 
circle  round  the  fire.  Accustomed  to  this  every  night,  the 
cattle  became  very  tame,  so  that  often  when  I  went  to 
have  evening  prayers  at  the  fire,  I  could  with  diflSculty 
find  an  open  path  on  account  of  the  denseness  of  the  cattle 
lying  dose  round  the  waggons  and  chewing  the  cud,  or 
sleeping  off  the  fatigues  of  the  day.  I  must  not  omit 
Fama  the  only  child  of  our  nurse,  a  bright  Kaffir  boy  of 
seven  or  eight  years  of  age,  who  accompanied  his  parents. 
Eesting  all  the  time  the  waggons  were  travelling,  this 
sprite  used  to  jump  out  when  we  unyoked, — ^ready  for  any 
amount  of  mischief,  and  taking  special  pleasure  in  teasing 
one  after  another  of  the  wearied  men,  as  they  lay  under 
the  shade  of  a  tree.  His  father  had  a  twofold  office.  He 
was  engaged  as  cook ;  but  having  announced  that  he  was 
a  good  shot,  and  fond  of  hunting,  his  office  came  to  include 
providing  the  meat  as  well  as  cooking  it.  In  order  still 
further  to  lighten  my  insufficient  waggons,  I  hired  another, 
with  two  Bakwena  men,  and  a  team  of  oxen  from  the  chief 
Sechele.  I  had  thus  with  me  some  thirteen  people,  and 
had  in  charge  above  seventy  oxen,  three  horses,  and  four 
waggons.  At  the  head  of  this  party  I  ^as  to  spend  the 
next  nine  months. 

Before  we  left  Klein  Chwai  we  were  joined  by  Messrs. 
Beader,  Lamont,  and  Burgess,  who  were  also  on  their  way 
to  the  Zambese  country.  Without  forming  one  party,  we 
were  for  some  time  close  to  one  another  on  the  road ;  and 
at  Maritsane  river  we  spent  Sunday  together.  Strange  to 
say,  on  comparing  notes,  I  found  that  one  of  these  hunters, 
when  a  boy,  had  gazed  upon  the  same  moxmtain  whose  scaurs 
and  crags  were  familiar  to  myself  in  youth.  Although  we 
met  in  Africa  as  perfect  strangers,  the  same  strath  had  given 


JOURNEY  INTO  THE  INTERIOli.  101 

US  birth,  and  the  hoarse  music  of  the  same  rapid-flowing 
river  had  been  familiar  to  us  both.  Like  the  world  itself 
the  Scotch  may  be  said  to  exist  between  a  centrifugal  and 
a  centripetal  force.  They  are  never  pleased  till  they  go 
abroad,  and  when  abroad  are  never  tired  of  thinking  and 
speaking  of  ^auld  lang  syne;"  and  many  are  never 
satisfied  till  they  find  themselves  back  in  their  '^ain 
countrie "  again.  That  short  English  service  was  the  last 
which  my  fellow-countryman  was  destined  to  attend.  But 
little  did  we  think  so  as  we  worshipped  together  at 
Maritsane  river. 

Before  reaching  the  Bangwaketse  town  named  Kanye,  I 
was  hurriedly  called  by  one  of  the  drivers,  who  informed 
me  that  the  wheel  of  his  waggon  could  not  possibly  go  any 
farther.  It  had  been  already  once  or  twice  wedged,  and 
was  now  beyond  all  repair.  What  was  to  be  done  1  We 
were  in  the  desert,  nearly  two  days*  journey  from  the 
Bangwaketse  town,  and  one  day  from  some  wells  of  water 
on  the  waggon-road  before  us.  I  left  Mebalwe  and  another 
man  in  charge  of  the  waggon — ^giving  them  plenty  of  food, 
and,  filling  all  their  available  vessels  with  water,  promised 
to  send  them  a  fresh  supply  of  the  precious  fluid  by  the 
Bakalahari  living  at  the  wells,  a  promise  which  I  kept.  To 
complete  our  misfortimes  my  horses  strayed  frt)m  their 
herds  and  were  some  days  away,  in  a  country  infested 
with  lions.  I  was  very  anxious  about  their  safety,  because 
I  regarded  them  as  indispensable  on  such  a  journey.  The 
possession  of  horses  reduces  distance  by  one  half,  whether 
for  the  purpose  of  looking  for  water  or  for  pursuing 
strayed  cattle.  I  was  therefore  thankful  when  two  were 
again  brought  to  the  waggons ;  the  third  had  been  seized 
by  the  lion.  As  soon  as  we  arrived  at  Kanye,  I  de- 
spatched an  empty  waggon  with  supplies  for  Mebalwe,  and 
a  spare  wheel,  with  which  to  bring  my  three-legged  vehicle 


102  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

to  be  repaired.  These  were  not  so  expeditiously  executed 
as  I  could  have  wished.  Although  a  first-rate  workman, 
Adriaan  the  blacksmith  had  got  into  idle  ways,  and  often 
threw  down  the  hammer  or  adze  the  moment  my  back  was 
turned.  There  was  something  seriously  wrong  with  his 
constitution,  according  to  his  own  account ;  but  I  noticed 
that  it  affected  him  most  on  the  hottest  days,  and  wheneyer 
I  left  the  waggons  he  was  sure  to  have  a  bad  attack. 

But  our  detention  here  was  enlivened  by  the  appearance 
of  Mr.  Sykes  from  the  Matebele  country,  who  told  us  of  the 
welfare  and  success  of  the  party  of  the  preceding  year,  under 
Mr.  Moffat  With  the  large  town  of  Kanye  close  to  us,  to 
whose  inhabitants  we  could  now  deliver  the  gospel  message 
in  their  own  language,  we  found  ourselves  suffici^it  employ- 
ment. Through  the  teaching  of  one  of  the  Kuruman  native 
schoolmasters,  we  found  that  Hasiitdwe,  the  chie^  and  one 
of  his  wives,  had  made  some  progress  in  learning  to  read. 
But  the  body  of  the  people  were  wedded  to  their  customs^ 
although  constantly  exhorted  and  instructed  by  Sebube, 
whose  zealous  efforts  were  however  somewhat  interfered 
with  by  the  fact,  that  not  having  a  sufficient  salary,  he 
lived  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  town,  at  a 
fountain  where  he  could  irrigate  and  raise  food  for  him- 
self and  family.  The  Bangwaketse  were  once  a  large 
and  powerful  tribe,  and  they  still  number  perhaps  six 
or  seven  thousand  people.  It  was  very  difficult  for  me 
to  answer  their  chiefs  question,  "  Why  do  you  pass  us 
by,  and  go  to  the  distant  Makololo  and  Matebele  t  Why 
not  teach  us  also  ? "  It  has  alwa3rs  been  a  matter  of  sur- 
prise to  me  why  certain  Bechuana  towns  have  never 
had  a  missionary,  although  willing  to  receive  one.  But 
this  grave  error  is  likely  soon  to  be  remedied ;  and  for  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  the  mission,  the  whole  country 
will  be  occupied  by  an  adequate  band  of  missionaries. 


JOURNEY  INTO  THE  INTEiftlOR.  103 

While  detained  at  Kanye,  Moleme,  the  native  teacher  at 
the  nei^bonring  Barolong  town  under  the  chief  Montsiwe, 
came  to  the  waggons  with  the  request  that  we  should  visit 
his  congregation  and  administer  the  ordinance  of  bap- 
tism. Mr.  Sykes  and  I  had  much  pleasure  in  doing  so. 
We  found  that  the  power  of  Christianity  was  evidently 
felt  in  the  village.  In  Montsiwe  and  Moleme,  who  are 
brothers,  we  had  an  instance  of  the  separations  which  the 
gospel  makes  in  heathen  lands :  the  one  believing  in  Christ, 
the  other  cleaving  to  Paganism.  The  Barolong  were  for- 
merly under  the  care  of  the  Wesleyan  Society,  and  their 
last  missionary,  the  Bev.  Mr.  Ludorf,  gave  up  his  charge  at 
Lotlakane  on  the  dispersion  of  the  tribe  by  the  Transvaal 
Republic.  We  have  already  referred  to  some  of  this  peo- 
ple as  living  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Taung,  and  joining 
with  the  people  of  that  station  as  members  of  the  churcL 
But  at  this  town,  except  for  the  occasional  visit  of  a 
missionary,  Moleme  has  the  entire  charge  of  the  infant 
church,  and  he  seemed  to  be  a  careful  as  well  as  zealous  man. 
The  spirit  of  the  people  was  earnest  and  enthusiastic ;  an- 
other example  of  the  strength  and  power  of  the  Christianity 
which  is  fostered  by  independent  thought  and  humble 
prayer,  and  not  enervated  by  over-dependence  upon  the 
help  of  the  European  missionary. 

On  approaching  Kanye,  the  large  aloe-trees  attract  the 
attention  of  the  traveller ;  and  again  on  leaving  the  town 
and  descending  the  steep  mountain  on  the  way  to  the 
Bakwena,  there  are  other  indications  that  he  is  now  enter- 
ing a  more  genial  and  better-watered  region.  The  little 
bushes  of  the  Karroo  had  given  place,  after  we  crossed  the 
Orange  river,  to  an  extensive  belt  of  country  covered  with 
the  larger  moretlwa  and  mohatla  bushes,  with  here  and 
there,  at  the  foot  of  mountains  and  along  their  gorges,  small 
forests  of  acacias.     Now,  however,  the  timber  increases  in 


\ 


104  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER, 

size  and  variety  j  the  mountains  are  wooded  on  their 
sloping  sides  and  table-shaped  summits ;  while  even  in  the 
case  of  the  more  rugged  and  abrupt  hills  and  peaks,  a  gener- 
ous vegetation  seeks  to  cover  their  yawning  fissures  and 
unshapely  rocks.  We  pass  at  some  distance  on  our  right 
the  site  of  Kolobeng,  where  Dr.  Livingstone  spent  many 
years  as  a  missionary.  I  afterwards  visited  the  ruins  of  the 
mission  station,  now  entirely  uninhabited.  I  stood  in  the 
roofless  house,  every  brick  of  which  the  Doctor  had  laid 
with  his  own  hand.  I  went  to  what  had  been  his  garden, 
and  returning  to  the  entrance  of  the  house,  gazed  upon  the 
scenery  which  must  have  been  familiar  to  the  eyes  of  its 
former  occupants — now  so  far  scattered  from  one  another, 
and  from  their  former  home.  Yonder  was  the  site  of  the 
town  which  the  evangelist  had  so  often  visited.  There  the 
grassy  plot  where  strangers  from  a  distance  would  "  out- 
span  "  when  they  came  for  medical  advice,  which  they  al- 
wa3rs  received  gratis.  There  at  my  feet  were  the  rocks 
upon  which  the  bottles  of  medicines  were  dashed  to  pieces 
by  the  men  who  had  been  cured  of  diseases  on  that  very 
spot.^  Missionaries  lay  no  claim  to  infallibility,  and  they 
are  free  to  admit  that  their  position  in  times  of  turmoil  and 
strife  is  a  difficult  one,  and  if  they  remain  at  their  post  at 
all  their  conduct  is  very  apt  to  be  misconceived  and  mis- 
understood. Instances  have  occurred  on  the  frontiers  of 
the  Cape  Colony  in  which  charges  as  heavy  as  any  ever 
brought  against  Livingstone  by  the  Dutchmen,  were  pre- 
ferred against  missionaries  by  colonists,  and  upon  equally 
insufficient  grounds.  But  then  there  was  this  important 
difference :  where  British  law  existed,  these  charges,  not 
being  supported  by  evidence,  passed  away  with  the  excite- 
ment of  which  they  were  the  product  But  the  Transvaal 
Bepublic,  within  a  few  years  after  it  secured  its  "  independ- 

^  Liyingstone's  Missionary  Travels,  p.  39. 


JOURNEY  INTO  THE  INTERIOR.  105 

ence,"  broke  up  no  less  than  five  mission  stations  established 
by  disinterested  men,  and  supported  by  the  Christian  benevo- 
lence of  a  distant  country.  Therefore  it  is  evident  that 
frontier  feuds  ought  not  to  be  finally  settled  on  the  frontier. 
Two  days  after  our  departure  from  Kanye,  we  reached 
Liteyana,  which  was  then  the  residence  of  the  Bakwena 
tribe  under  the  chief  Sechele.  Our  reception  here  was 
gratifying ;  the  chief  himself  made  his  appearance  at  the 
waggon,  and  politely  greeting  us  in  English  fashion,  offered 
us  also  the  African  welcome  of  an  ox  for  slaughter,  which 
was  accordingly  shot  on  the  spot>  Sechele  was  the  finest 
specimen  of  the  Bechuanas  which  I  had  yet  seen,  being  tall 
and  well  made,  with  a  good  head,  an  open  countenance,  and 
unusually  large  eyes.  His  dress  was  somewhat  singular. 
At  one  time  he  appeared  in  a  suit  of  tiger-skin  clothes  made 
in  European  fashion.  On  another  broiling  day  he  was  dressed 
in  an  immense  Mackintosh  overcoat  with  huge  water-boots. 
After  a  youth  of  romantic  adventure  and  great  hardship, 
Sechele  found  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Bakwena,  then  con- 
siderably reduced  owing  to  recent  wars  and  dissensions. 
In  1842  he  was  first  visited  by  Dr.  Livingstone,  who  was 
to  exercise  so  much  influence  over  his  mind.  The  Doctor 
afterwards  resided  with  the  Bakwena,  and  Sechele  gave 
himself  to  instruction,  and  proved  himself  an  apt  scholar. 
I  shotdd  say  there  is  no  native  in  Bechuana-land  better 
acquainted  with  the  Bible  than  Sechele.  I  have  heard 
Dutchmen  describe  with  amazement  his  readiness  in  find. 
ing  texts  in  both  Old  and  New  Testaments,  but  especially  the 
former.  After  some  three  years'  probation.  Dr.  Living- 
stone admitted  Sechele  into  the  church  by  baptisuL  So 
long  as  the  encouraging  and  stimulating  influence  of  his 
teacher  was  near  to  him,  this  chiefs  conduct  would  seem 
to  have  been  all  that  could  be  desired.  But  this  consis- 
tency was  not  kept  up  after  the  Dutchmen  had  attacked 


106        NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

his  town,  and  he  was  left  alone  to  pnrsae  his  course  amid 
the  qaerolous  taunts  of  his  own  people.  He  was  well-nigh 
alone  in  his  tribe  in  his  profession  of  Christianity ;  and 
many  of  the  people  refused  to  see  more  in  it  than  a  vain 
desire  to  ''  make  himself  a  white  man."  Then  the  rain- 
making  and  other  customs  were  still  carried  on  in  the  town, 
and  at  the  expense  of  a  younger  brother  of  the  chief,  called 
KhosilintsL  But  if  this  person  paid  for  the  rain,  and  other- 
wise performed  the  ^orthodox"  customs  every  year,  he 
would,  in  point  of  fact,  be  the  preserver  of  the  town,  and  its 
virtual  head  in  the  public  estimation.  I  believe  Sechele's  first 
compromise  of  principle  was  an  interference  to  arrest  what 
he  supposed  would  lead  to  the  total  subversion  of  his  power. 
He  resolved  himself  to  send  for  rain-makers,  and  to  pay 
them  out  of  his  own  cattle.  At  first  this  compromise  was 
secret  and  unacknowledged.  But  it  became  gradually 
known  in  the  country  that  '^  Sechele  was  now  making  rain." 
By  and  bye  the  secrecy  was  thrown  aside,  and  he  openly 
assisted  in  the  performance  of  heathen  ceremonies.  But  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  all  this  time  this  singular  man 
was  most  exact  in  the  observance  of  private  and  &mfly 
prayers,  and  stood  up  regularly  every  Sunday  to  preach 
to  the  Bakwena.  His  position  seemed  to  be  one  which  he 
has  not  been  by  any  means  the  first  to  occupy — that  Chris- 
tianity might  be  engrafted  upon  heathen  customs,  and  that 
the  two  could  go  together.  For  instance,  he  himself  wonld 
go  with  the  people  in  their  rain-making  ceremonies,  but  he 
would  not  neglect  at  the  same  time  to  pray  to  God.  He 
would  use  charms  and  incantations,  washings  and  purifyings, 
according  to  the  old  rule,  and  yet  profess  faith  in  Him  whose 
blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin.  The  Bible,  in  shorty  did  not 
require  him  to  give  up  the  customs  of  his  ancestors,  al- 
though it  required  him  to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
He  could  be  an  orthodox  Mochuana  and  a  good  Christiaii 


V 


fc 


JOURNEY  INTO  THE  INTERIOR.  107 

at  the  same  time.  This  was  the  position  which  he  took  up^ 
and  the  tenor  of  many  of  his  discourses.  I  have  spent 
many  of  the  hours  of  night  with  this  clever  chief  in  the 
earnest  discussion  of  these  points.  When  one  after  an- 
other his  arguments  failed  him,  he  has  said  to  me, ''  You 
have  conquered :  your  idea  of  the  Christian  life  is  the  right 
one,  but  was  I  not  alone  ?  What  is  one  ^nan  against  all 
the  Bakwenaf" 

**  How  hard  it  is  for  us  all,  Sechele,  for  me  as  well  as 
for  you,  to  believe  that  God  with  us  is  greater  than  all 
who  can  be  against  us !" 

"  Monare  "  (Sir),  he  replied  with  feeling,  "  not  hard  for 
yoQ  :  you  are  a  missionary ;  your  faith  is  great ;  but  hard 
for  me,  who  am  chief  of  a  heathen  town." 

It  would  have  given  me  pleasure  to  chronicle  greater 
stead&stness  and  spirituality  of  mind  as  characteristics 
of  a  man  who  occupies  so  prominent  a  position  in  Bech- 
uana-Iand  as  the  chief  of  the  Bakwena.  It  would  have 
been  gratifying  to  record,  that  as  in  the  case  of  the  Bat- 
laping  residing  at  Likatlong  and  on  the  Yaal  river,  the 
movement  towards  the  new  religion  had  spread  among  the 
people  as  well  as  influenced  the  chief,  and  that  the  tribe 
had  given  itself  to  the  '^  likualo,"  or  books,  for  all  blessings 
which  they  needed,  instead  of  to  the  rites  and  ceremonies 
of  their  forefathers.  But  it  is  no  part  of  my  duty  to 
manufacture  or  distort  facts.  However  heroically  Sechele 
set  out  as  a  Christian,  separating  himself  from  all  that  was 
connected  with  heathenism,  instead  of  carrying  numbers 
with  him  by  the  power  and  depth  of  Ids  convictions, 
in  the  course  of  tune  his  people  dragged  him  back  to 
them.  '^Was  he  ever  a  Christian  at  alii"  says  one 
critic.  "Is  he  not  one  stilll"  sa3rs  another.  Begarded 
with  great  suspicion  by  men  of  the  old  school,  as  in- 
sincere in  his  return  to  the  observance  of  their  cere- 


1 08  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

monies,  Sechele  is  looked  upon  with  even  greater  mistrust 
by  native  Christians,  as  one  still  in  the  thrall  and  bondage 
of  this  world,  and  a  stumbling-block  to  all  converts. 
The  Europeans  in  the  country,  whose  standard  (for  black 
men)  of  morals  and  consistency  is  decidedly  high,  put  this 
chief  down  as  a  clever  humbug.  The  most  charitable 
interpreters  of. a  life  of  temptation  and  struggle  are  the 
missionaries,  who  hope  that  to  this  chequered  career  a 
brighter  chapter  may  yet  be  added,  and  who  feel  that  even 
now  it  does  not  befit  them  to  "  cast  a  stone  "  at  such  a  life 
as  that  of  Sechele. 

For  a  few  years  missionaries  belonging  to  Hermanns- 
burg  in  Hanover  resided  with  Sechele ;  and  under  their 
care  he  occupied  the  position  of  a  member  of  the  church. 
The  circumstances  under  which  he  procured  these  mis- 
sionaries further  exemplify  the  character  of  the  maiL 
After  the  departure  of  Dr.  Livingstone,  one  and  some- 
times two  native  teachers  resided  with  Sechele.  Mr. 
Moffat  gave  him  to  understand,  however,  that  as  much 
valuable  property  had  been  destroyed  at  the  stations  which 
had  been  broken  up  by  the  frontier  farmers,  it  was  not 
probable  that  he  could  soon  receive  another  missionary 
from  England.  But  Sechele  was  determined,  as  he  ex- 
plained to  me,  to  show  that  he  had  power  to  get  a  mis- 
sionary at  once  from  some  quarter.  So,  without  consulting 
his  people,  and  to  the  surprise  of  all  the  country,  he  actu- 
ally made  application  to  the  Transvaal  Grovemment  for 
a  missionary !  President  Pretorius  gave  prompt  attention 
to  his  request,  and  hearing  that  German  missionaries  had 
landed  in  Natal,  and  understanding  that  they  were  Mora- 
vians, for  whom  all  Dutchmen  profess  great  req>ect)  he 
forwarded  the  Bechuana  chiefs  petition  to  the  Hanoverian 
missionaries,  who  had  been  driven  back  from  their  original 
destination  in  the  Gralla  country,  and  were  somewhat  an- 


i. 


JOURNEY  INTO  THE  INTEEIOR.  109 

certain  as  to  a  suitable  locality  for  their  labours.  The 
arrival  of  Sechele's  letter  in  such  circumstances  was  re- 
garded by  these  devout  men  as  an  .indic9.tion  of  the  will 
of  Providence  that  they  should  proceed  into  Bechuana- 
land.  What  was  their  surprise,  on  arriving  at  the  station, 
to  find  all  the  detail  of  missionary  work  in  fidl  operation, 
under  Paul,  the  native  teacher !  They  had  not  known  the 
previous  history  of  this  Bechuana  chief;  and  they  were 
for  a  time  afraid  lest  the  London  Missionary  Society 
should  regard  them  as  intruders  in  a  district  so  long 
occupied  by  its  agents.  But  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Moffat 
on  his  way  to  the  Matebele  put  an  end  to  all  their  fears  on 
this  score.  He  explained  to  them  the  hesitation  of  the 
London  Society  at  once  to  send  a  successor  to  Dr.  Living- 
stone at  the  Bakwena ;  and  assured  them  that  now  they 
were  in  the  country,  he  could  only  bid  them  God-speed 
as  fellow-labourers.  The  missionaries  once  obtained,  by 
the  exercise  of  his  own  power  and  influence,  Sechele 
seems  gradually  to  have  repented  of  the  step  he  had  taken; 
or,  as  in  other  things,  to  have  bent  to  the  will  of  the 
people,  who  had  always  a  prejudice  against  "  the  mission- 
aries, who,"  they  said,  "  came  from  the  Boers."  After  the 
lapse  of  some  years  Sechele  sent  a  formal  declaration  to 
Natal  and  to  England,  that  ^'  he  did  not  wish  the  teaching 
of  the  Germans,  but  one  who  would  instruct  him  as  Dr. 
Livingstone  had  done."  It  was  in  the  end  amicably 
arranged  between  the  two  Societies  that  the  Hanoverian 
mission  should  direct  attention  more  particularly  to  tribes 
residing  within  or  near  to  the  Transvaal,  while  the  London 
Society  should  reoccupy  the  station  at  Sechele's.  The 
two  Societies  might  thus  work  their  way  northward,  the 
one  on  a  route  slightly  to  the  east  of  the  other. 

We  were  very  kindly  and  hospitably  received  by  Mr. 
Schroeder  of  the  Hanoverian  Society,  who  afterwards  died 


110         NOKTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

of  fever  at  this  station.  The  Oerman  missionaries  had  not 
been  idle  since  their  arrivaL  Besides  attending  to  the 
acquisition  of  the  language,  they  had  built  a  dwelling- 
house  for  themselves  and  another  for  the  chief.  The  latter 
was  neatly  finished,  and  Sechele,  who  had  been  to  Ciqpe 
Town,  and  had  seen  the  interior  of  many  English  homee, 
was  very  careful  in  keeping  everything  in  order.  Mase- 
bele,  his  wife,  was  well  dressed,  and,  if  not  quite  abreast  of 
her  husband  as  to  politeness,  was  veiy  kind,  and  interested 
herself  much  in  making  inquiries  about  our  relatives  in 
England.  We  were  introduced  to  Sechde's  family,  some 
of  whom  had  been  to  Kuruman,  and  had  resided  for  a 
time  in  Mr.  Moffat's  house.  Like  the  chief  himself,  these 
young  people  were  kind,  intelligent^  and  pleasant^  but 
entirely  lacking  in  decided  views  or  strong  preference  as 
to  religion.     Compromise  seemed  the  motto  of  alL 

Two  days  beyond  the  town  of  Liteyana,  we  met  a  party 
of  Transvaal  Dutchmen  coming  out  from  an  elephant 
hunt  in  the  interior.  They  inquired  anxiously  concerning 
native  politics ;  and  gave  us  to  understand  that  they  had 
protracted  their  hunt  on  account  of  certain  warlike  romonrs 
which  had  reached  them.  This  delay  had  well-nigh  proved 
fatal  to  an  Englishman  in  their  company,  who  was  then 
slowly  recovering  from  fever.  As  this  was  my  first  con- 
tact with  a  disease  so  prevalent  in  the  district  to  which  I 
was  journeying,  I  got  the  man  to  describe  his  symptcmis 
and  the  remedies  which  he  had  used.  With  reference  to 
the  Dutch  mode  of  treatment  in  his  and  in  other  cases,  all 
that  can  be  said  is,  that  the  poor  people  do  their  best  in 
the  circumstances  in  which  they  are  placed.  Before  leav- 
ing home,  and  when  they  are  buying  supplies  of  groceries, 
etc,  for  their  hunt,  they  purchase  from  the  storekeeper 
a  small  tin  box,  gaudily  painted,  and  labelled  ^'huis- 
apotheek,"  being  an  assortment  of  medicines  for  domestic 


JOUBNEY  INTO  THE  INTERIOR.         Ill 

use.  Some  have  more  skill  than  others  in  the  use  of  these 
medicines ;  but  I  have  heard  the  remark  made,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  concerning  a  protracted  illness,  "  We  tried  the 
whole  medicine-box,  bottle  after  bottle,  but  without  result." 
Like  their  tea  and  sugar,  the  "  huis-apotheek "  is  usually 
exhausted  before  they  have  finished  their  hunt.  It  had 
been  so  in  the  present  case ;  and  when  the  unfortunate 
Engliahman  became  ill  the  stock  of  medicines  had  become 
entirely  exhausted.  So  the  Dutchmen  gave  him  what  they 
had :  pure  tar,  a  spoonful  now  and  then,  with  water ;  and 
the  &b  of  game,  applied  externally  and  internally.  Fail- 
ing to  produce  perspiration,  they  actually  rolled  the  miser- 
able man  in  the  burning  sand  as  a  sudorific!  Their 
patient  however  did  not  die,  as  might  have  been  expected ; 
and  change  of  air  had  made  him  convalescent  when  we 
met  him,  although  his  weakness  and  haggard  looks  still 
excited  our  compassion.  Some  years  afterwards  I  met  this 
person,  who  walked  up  to  me  as  to  an  old  friend.  Failing 
at  once  to  recognise  him,  he  said  almost  upbraidingly, 
"Don't  you  remember  the  wretch  for  whom  Mrs.  Mac- 
kenzie made  such  delicious  beef -tea  at  Kopong  f 

Between  Boatlanama  and  Lopepe,  Ehosimore,  who 
rode  one  of  my  horses,  was  fortunate  enough  to  shoot 
an  eland.  It  is  considered  a  masterly  thing  if  you  can 
drive  the  eland  or  the  giraffe  to  the  waggon  road,  or  to  the 
encampment,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  there  shoot  it.  So 
Khofiimore  was  not  a  little  proud  that  he  had  succeeded 
in  Inringing  it  dose  to  the  waggon  road,  where,  as  he  said, 
Ma-Willie  (Mrs.  Mackenzie)  could  see  it.  The  eland  is  a 
beaatiful  creature,  combining  great  elegance  with  consider- 
able size  and  weight  of  body.  The  meat  of  a  fat  eland  is 
richer  than  the  best  beef  All  hands  were  speedily  at  work 
skinning  and  cutting  up  our  prize.  Having  secured  it  in 
the  waggons,  we  again  proceeded  towards  water  at  Lopepe. 


112         NOBTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

KhosimoTe  spoke  Yery  highly  of  the  horse  which  he  had 
used  that  morning;  it  was,  he  said,  weU  trained,  and 
evidently  accustomed  to  hunting.  I  was  ^ad  to  hear  this, 
for,  as  I  aspired  to  closer  acquaintance  with  the  game,  I 
judged  it  fortunate  that  hoth  rider  and  horse  should  not 
he  equally  inexperienced  at  the  outset  But  a  night  or  two 
after  this,  having  travelled  late  in  the  dark,  and  the  boy 
who  had  charge  of  the  horses  being  probably  in  a  great 
hurry  to  get  to  the  fire,  tied  this  horse  most  carelessly  to 
the  waggon,  with  such  a  length  of  rope  that  during  the 
night  his  1^  got  entangled ;  he  threw  himself  over,  and 
next  morning  was  so  crippled  as  hardly  to  be  able  to  leave 
the  waggon.  In  a  few  days  he  was  dead.  In  the  same 
way  I  have  more  than  once  lost  an  ox  through  the  care- 
lessness of  the  person  who  fastened  them  up  at  night  So 
true  is  it  in  such  cases  that,  if  you  only  give  rope  enough, 
the  animals  will  '^  hang  "  themselves. 

We  arrived  at  Shoshong,  the  town  of  the  Bamangwato, 
under  the  chief  Sekhome,  on  the  20th  July.  This  is 
perhaps  the  largest  of  all  the  Bechuana  towns,  and,  indeed, 
one  of  the  largest  in  Southern  AMca.  Shoshong  was  after- 
wards to  be  my  own  station  and  place  of  residence  for 
years,  but  at  present  it  was  of  importance  to  us  as  the  last 
place  where  supplies  of  native  com  could  be  purchased, 
and  additions  made  to  the  number  of  the  draught  oxen. 
There  had  arrived  here,  a  short  time  before,  a  Hanoverian 
missionary,  who  very  kindly  received  us.  Here  also  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  meeting  Mr.  Moffat,  who  was  then  on  his 
way  to  Kuruman  from  Moselekatse's  country.  He  brought 
the  good  news  that  the  mission  to  the  Matebele  had  been 
established  at  a  place  called  Inyate,  and  that  the  mission- 
aries were  already  preaching  to  the  Matebele  through  inter- 
preters. This  news  rendered  us  all  the  more  desirous  to 
ascertain  the  success  of  the  Makololo  branch  of  the  new 


JOURNEY  INTO  THE  INTERIOR.  113 

nusBion.  But  no  news  had  reached  the  Matebele  country 
from  them.  Nor  had  the  Bamangwato  more  recent  intel- 
ligence than  we  ourselves  had  received  at  Kuruman  befo;*e 
starting.  I  found,  however,  that  the  Bamangwato  had  not 
forgotten  Mr.  Helmore.  My  future  friends  and  coadjutors, 
Khame  and  Khamane,  the  sons  of  the  chief  Sekhome,  who 
were  now  attending  school,  and  who  had  been  ab*eady 
h^tized  by.  Mr.  Schulenborg,  spoke  very  gratefully  of  a 
service  which  Mr.  Helmore  had  held  in  the  large  "  kotla," 
or  court-yard  of  Sekhome,  when  passing  northward  the. 
previous  year.  I  have  often  since  heard  the  common  people 
among  the  Bamangwato  refer  to  this  service,  and  mention 
some  of  the  preacher's  remarks.  It  would  seem  that  Mr. 
Hdmore  found  special  favour  in  the  eyes  of  Sekhome,  who 
assembled  all  Ids  people  on  the  Sunday  morning  as  if  to  a 
native  "  pitsho,"  or  assembly.  Wh^n  Mr.  Helmore  rose  to 
conduct  worship,  the  large  court-yard  was  crowded  with 
men.  The  remark'  which  the  Bamangwato  make  concern- 
ing the  preacher  of  that  day  is,  **  Ola  a  itse  go  bua,"  "  He 
knew  how  to  speak,"  i.e.,  he  preached  so  as  to  impress  and 
interest  his  audience. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  Mrs. 
Helmore,  at  Shoshong,  to  a  daughter,  tlien  at  school  in: 
England,  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  their  circumstances  and 
feelings  when  at  this  place  the  previous  year : — 

^I  intended  to  write  to  you  a  long  letter  from  this  place, 
bbt  am  afraid  I  shall  not  be  ajble.  The  people  crowd  about 
our  waggons  and  tent  all  day  long,  making  the  most 
deafening  noise,  so  I  have  been  obliged  to  leave  letter- 
writing  till  candle-light.  ... 

"  There  must  now  be  a  post  for  us  at  Eurunian,  but  when . 
we  shall  get  it  I  do  not  know.'    Do  not  be  discouraged  at 
not  hearing  firom  us  regidarly ;  trust  that  we  are  well  and 
safe.    We  ^  will  commend  each  oth,ef  to.  the  LorJ,  the^ 

H 


114  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

parents  the  children,  sni  the  children  the  parents/ and 
then  there  will  be  no  fear  nor  anxiety.  I  want  to  know- 
how  you  spent  your  midsommer  holidays.  By  the  time 
yon  get  this  it  will  be  Christmas  again.  In  about  three 
weeks  we  hope  to  reach  the  Zouga  or  Botletle,  stay  there 
a  little,  and  then  go  on  to  linyantL  It  will  be  the  be- 
ginning of  November  before  we  get  there.  When  we  have 
seen  Dr.  Livingstone,  we  shall  arrange  about  your  coming 
home.  .  .  . 

So  planned  this  Christian  mother  for  the  establishment 
of  a  ^^home"  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Zambese,  such  as 
they  had  possessed  for  years  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Vaal. 

Mr.  Mofiht  was  the  bearer  of  a  message  from  Moselekatse 
to  Sekhome,  which  he  now  delivered.  It  was  to  the  effect 
that  he  might  ^  sleep/'  as  he  (Moselekatse)  had  now  no 
intention  of  going  to  war  "with  any  one.  He  had  promised 
to  Mr.  Moffat,  in  1854,  that  he  would  avoid  everything 
like  aggressive  war,  and  now  announced  his  intention  to 
adhere  to  that  promise.  In  a  future  chapter  we  shall  see 
how  much  truth  and  sincerity  were  in  this  message  firom 
the  Zulu  despot.  A  Sunday  intervening  whilst  we  were 
still  at  Shoshong,  Mr.  Schulenborg  requested  Mr.  Mo&t 
to  share  with  him  the  labours  of  the  day*  The  Bamang- 
wato  assembled  in  considerable  numbers,  and  Mr.  Moffint 
discoursed  to  them  with  great  solemnity  on  themes  seldom 
present  to  the  heathen  mind,— 4eath,  judgment,  and  the 
world  to  come. 

After  parting  with  our  venerable  father  in  mission  woA 
at  Shoshong,  we  commenced  the  most  difficult  part  of  onr 
journey.  But  we  trusted  we  were  not  unprepared  to  enter 
it.  Not  having  numy  large  water-vessels,  I  had  purchased 
K  calabadi  for  each  man,  with  the  understanding  that  no 
one  should  visit  the  **  public  "  water-vessels  except  the  cook. 


.  t 


JOURNEY  INTO  THE  INTERIOR.  115 

who  wonld  give  out  the  necessary  water  for  cooking.  I 
found  this  plan  answer  very  welL  I  was  never  without 
water,  and  never  required  to  interfere  and  give  it  out 
myself.  Khosimore  jealously  guarded  his  "vatjes,"  or 
water-vessels ;  and  when  the  men  were  thirsty  they  had 
recourse  to  their  own  calabashes.  A  spirit  of  emulation 
also  entered  amongst  them,  and  it  came  to  be  matter  of 
inquiry  at  the  evening  fire  who  had  most  frequently  visited 
their  supply  of  water  during  the  day.  It  was  held  that 
such  bad  declared  themselves  to  be  the  babies  of  the  party. 
The  leader  of  my  own  waggon  had  been  provided  by  his 
father  at  Euruman  with  a  stone  jar  to  hold  water  for  the 
young  man's  own  use.  *  At  the  jar  again ! "  was  frequently 
heard  announced  from  waggon  to  waggon,  as  this  young 
traveller  washed  away  the  sand  of  the  desert  from  his 
throat.  As  for  Fum,  the  Bushman,  when  the  waters  were 
&r  apart,  he  was  accustomed  to  carry  his  calabash  on  his 
shooldery  but  rarely  had  recourse  to  it.  He  obtained 
refreshment  fit>m  the  roots  and  tubers  which  he  was  con- 
tinually digging  up ;  and  in  the  evening  his  wallet  con- 
tained others  which  needed  roasting. 

In  1846  it  was  not  necessary  for  Eoualeyn  Gordon  Gum- 
ming to  go  farther  north  than  the  Bamangwato  mountains 
and  the  Limpopo  river  in  order  to  meet  with  troops  of 
elephants.  Although  a  few  come  from  the  Kalahari  annu- 
ally in  the  dry  season  to  drink  at  one  or  other  of  the  waters 
between  Sechele's  and  Sekome's,  and  although  in  the  habitat 
of  the  tsetse  to  the  east  of  Shoshong,  they  are  still  to  be  found, 
yet  hunters  who  hope  to  fill  their  waggon  with  ivory  during 
ihe  hunting  season  are  now  found  every  year  in  the  district 
of  the  Zambese  and  in  the  country  of  the  Mashona,  to  the 
north-east  of  Moselekatse.  Gumming  performed  most  of 
Ilia  daring  feats  in  the  Bamangwato  country,  and  attended 
by  Bamangwato  men.     Two  brothers,  still  living  in  the 


1 1 6  NORTU  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

town,  had  accompanied  him  on  his  hunting  excursions,  and 
also  gone  with  him  to  Grahamstown  for  supplies.  Although 
first-rate  shots  and  brave  hunters  have  since  visited  the 
country,  no  one  has  surpassed  Mohibiru,  or  the  Bed  Man,  as 
they  called  Gumming,  in  the  estimation  of  the  Bamangwata 
When  they  describe  his  taking  up  the  lion's  spoor  fix)m  ihe 
water  to  the  bush  which  was  his  lair,  and  his  going  up  and 
shooting  him  dead  without  himself  receiving  a  scratch,  it  is 
still  customaiy  for  the  Bamangwato  to  ^lay  their  hand 
on  their  mouth "  in  expression  of  their  unceasing  amaze- 
ment and  admiration.  Whatever  people  may  affirm  at  the 
fire-side  in  England,  in  the  country  which  was  the  scene  of 
his  exploits  there  is  no  question  of  Gumming's  skill  or 
prowess  as  a  hunter.  The  Bamangwato  say  they  have  seen 
as  good  marksmen,  but  they  have  never  seen  such  deter- 
mined, even  reckless,  daring  as  was  shown  by  Gumming. 
From  all  I  could  gather,  however,  it  would  seem  to  have 
been  bravery  rather  than  recklessness ;  for  I  learned  that  he 
trusted  no  servant  to  clean  his  guns,  or  to  meddle  with  any 
of  his  hunter's  tools.  When  he  faced  great  danger,  there- 
fore, it  was  not  in  recklessness  of  what  might  happen,  but 
in  full  confidence  of  a  successful  issue,  trusting,  as  he  did, 
to  a  good  gun,  unfailing  caps  and  powder,  as  well  as  his 
own  coolness. 

Entering  the  pass  of  Monakalongwe  we  watered  our 
cattle  at  the  beautifiil  fountain  of  Lottotshe,  which  rises  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Bamangwato  range  of  mountains. 
Beaching  Eanne,  where  there  is  a  considerable  town  of 
Bakalahari,  we  were  cautioned  that  in  a  certain  directioii 
there  were  numerous  game-pits,  into  which  horses  belonging 
to  Messrs.  Beader  and  Burgess  had  fallen  a  few  days  before. 
The  water  is  here  in  an  old  river-bed,  and  never  faUs  to 
come,  although  at  times  it  percolates  very  slowly  through 
the  mud  and  sand.     We  cleared  out  all  the  wells  by  the 


JOUItNEY  INTO  THE  INTERIOR.  1 1 7 

light  of  the  moon,  but  found  next  morning  that  there  would 
not  be  enough  water  for  all  the  oxen ;  so  I  sent  the  troop, 
in  charge  of  Bakalahari  and  some  of  my  own  men,  to  Loale, 
a  water  some  distance  to  the  north-east,  and  on  the  road 
afterwards  taken  by  travellers  visiting  the  Victoria  Falls. 
Instead  of  one  of  my  oxen,  the  Bakalahari  brought  its  hide 
and  part  of  the  meat.  In  its  eagerness  to  drink  it  had 
fallen  into  some  fissure  in  the  rock,  and  broken  its  leg. 

Some  days  before  this  I  had  received,  by  a  native  travel- 
ling southward,  a  note  from  Mr.  Burgess,  expressing  a  hope 
that  I  should  not  be  long  detained  behind  them ;  that  after 
spending  some  months  among  the  elephants,  they  intended 
to  send  out  to  the  colony  one  waggon  with  the  ivory  for 
fresh  supplies  of  provisions,  while  the  rest  of  the  party  was 
to  join  us  at  the  site  of  the  mission  to  the  Makololo,  and 
open  up  a  trade  with  that  tribe  in  goods  of  European  manu- 
facture. But  no  human  purpose  concerning  this  mission  was 
to  be  established.  We  shall  hear  further  on  of  the  disastrous 
conclusion  of  this  hunting  expedition,  the  circumstances 
being  such  as  to  make  it  matter  of  thankfulness  that  we 
were  not  then  in  their  company  as  fellow-travellers.  In 
the  meantime  we  heard  from  the  Bakalahari  at  Kanne  that 
they  had  taken  the  road  to  the  east,  leading  to  Victoria 
Falls. 

Leaving  Kanne  after  sunset  on  Thursday  evening,  we 
entered  the  long  and  dreary  desert  stretching  northwards. 
After  two  days  and  two  nights'  hard  work  for  all  con- 
cerned, we  reached  Nkowane  on  Saturday  evening  a  little 
before  sunset  Soon  after  leaving  Kanne,  I  was  requested 
to  come  and  see  one  of  my  men  who  had  been  ailing  for 
some  days,  and  who  was  now  said  to  be  dying.  On  ex- 
amining him  I  found  there  was  not  the  slightest  reason  for 
alarm  ;  and  so  having  administered  some  medicine  to  him, 
we  went  on  our  way.     I  afterwards  learned -that  I  was 


119  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

looked  upon  aa  very  hard-heiui;ed  in  taking  this  oouisei 
and  that  I  was  expected  to  go  back  to  Kanne  to  wait  this 
young  man's  convalescence.  But  their  opinion  changed 
when  they  saw  the  symptoms  give  way,  and  the  patient 
speedily  recover  strength.  And  certainly  he  who  would  wait 
till  some  Bechuanas  recover  from  illness,  and  give  them- 
selves out  as  quite  well,  would  require  not  to  be  in  a  huny. 
The  nearest  approach  to  the  position  which  they  take  up 
on  this  subject  is  what  I  have  noticed  among  men  who 
have  spent  some  years  as  common  sailors.  When  they 
announce  themselves  to  be  ill,  it  is  without  any  previooa 
hint  that  they  are  ailing,  and  they  go  and  lie  down,  and 
are  almost  as  helpless  as  logs ;  until,  all  at  once,  they  say 
they  are  quite  well,  and  resume  their  usual  duties.  This 
habit  perhaps  comes  from  being  either  ^on  duty"  or 
*^  off  duty  "  on  board  ship,  with  no  intermediate  stages. 
Bechuanas  in  a  convalescent  state  are  very  long  before 
they  admit  that  they  are  well ;  but  as  soon  as  they  have 
said  so,  they  get  up  and  attend  to  their  work. 

The  country  through  which  we  were  now  travelling  was 
exceedingly  monotonous  and  uninteresting.  The  hollows 
which  contain  pools  of  water  in  summer  were  now  dried  up, 
and  along  the  ^  mokoko  "  or  ancient  river-bed  to  our  left, 
we  were  told  there  was  not  a  drop  of  water.  Without  a 
single  hill  in  sight,  we  found  ourselves  traversing  an 
undulating  prairie,  whose  gently  sloping  lidges  of  san^ 
followed  one  after  another  like  the  waves  of  the  sea.  The 
long  ripe  grass,  of  a  lightish  yellow  colour,  gave  to  the 
landscape  something  of  the  appearance  of  one  immense 
harvest-field.  A  solitary  camel-thorn,  with  fantastically 
turned  branches,  was  here  and  there  seen  in  the  distance, 
while  a  variety  of  small  shrubs  and  bushes  was  distin- 
guishable only  in  our  neighbourhood  from  the  tall  white 
grass,  gently  bending  to  the  afternoon  breeze,  or  standing 


I 


JOURNEY  INTO  THE  INTERIOR.  119 

dioopingly  in  the  breathless  stillness  and  dazzling  glare  oF 
noonday. 

**  A  region  of  emptioess,  howling  and  drear 
Which  man  hath  abandoned  from  famine  and  fear ; 
Which  the  snake  and  the  lizard  inhabit  alone. 
With  the  twilight  bat  from  the  yawning  stone. 

•  •  •  • 

A  region  of  drought  where  no  river  glides, 
No  rippling  brook  with  osier'd  sides, 
Where  sedgy  pool,  nor  bubbling  fount. 
Nor  tree,  nor  doud,  nor  misty  mount. 
Appears  to  refresh  the  aching  eye ; 
But  the  barren  earth  and  the  burning  sky, 
And  the  blank  horizon  round  and  round 
Spread — void  of  living  sight  or  sound."  ^ 

Not  a  living  creature  was  to  be  seen  for  miles ;  but,  once 
outspanned,  we  found  that  even  here  life  was  not  entirely 
extinct.  More  frequently  than  snake  or  lizard,  we  found 
near  to  our  waggon  a  little  cricket,  industriously  making 
what  noise  it  could;  and  in  the  dreariest  places  we  observed 
a  little  bird  about  the  size  of  a  lark,  which,  like  that  bird, 
rose  from  the  earth  to  give  forth  its  song.  But  its  soaring 
and  its  song  were  of  short  duration.  It  rose  only  some 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  from  the  ground,  uttering  meanwhile 
its  one  plaintive  note,  which  again  subsided  as  it  descended 
to  the  ground.  After  a  brief  interval  this  lonesome  bird 
would  repeat  its  desert  dirge.  In  the  distance  wo  some- 
times descried  the  shy  khama  (hartebeest),  or  the  kukama 
(gemsbuck  or  or3rx),  fleetest  of  the  antelopes ;  an  occasional 
herd  of  springbucks  cropping  the  short  thick  grass  of  the 
hard  river-bed ;  and  once  or  twice  we  saw  in  the  distance 
troops  of  elands  and  giraffes,  roaming  at  will  and  without 
thought  of  water.  After  leaving  a  fountain  our  cattle 
when  unyoked  usually  grazed  well  for  the  first  twenty-four 

^  Thomas  Pringle. 


120  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

hours ;  but  thirst  afterwards  took  away  inclination  to  eatj 
SO  that,  although  surrounded  by  the  rich  sweet  grass  of  the 
prairie,  as  soon  as  they  were  out  of  the  yoke  they  sought 
the  shade  of  a  neighbouring  tree,  and  there  remained  till 
brought  ag^  to  their  place  before  the  waggon. 

I  was  told  by  the  Bakalahari  at  Nkowane  that  they  kept 
one  of  the  wells  shut  because  it  was  easy  of  access,  and 
if  it  had  water  the  lions  would  come  and  drink  there,  and 
infest  their  dwellings,  and  their  sheep  and  goat  pens  at 
night.  The  second  well  was  in  the  hollow  of  the  limestone 
rock — ^its  sides  abrupt,  and  the  water  accessible  only  by 
means  of  a  sort  of  ladder.  There  was  a  conveniently 
shaped  rock  near  the  mouth  of  the  well,  into  which  the 
water  for  the  oxen  was  poured.  For  a  small  piece  of 
tobacco  esiicYiy  the  Bakalahari  assisted  us  to  clear  away  the 
mud  from  the  second  well;  but  after  all  our  trouble  I 
found  that  the  supply  of  water  from  both  was  not  sufficient 
to  allow  all  my  oxen  to  drink  at  once.  So  I  separated  the 
party  on  Monday,  sending  on  in  advance  the  two  waggons 
which  were  driven  by  the  Hottentots.  The  rest  of  the 
party  left  Nkowane  on  Tuesday.  On  Wednesday  night, 
while  toiling  diligently  through  the  deep  sand,  we  came 
unexpectedly  upon  one  of  the  waggons  which  had  started 
a  day  before  us.  Its  solitary  guardian  in  the  desert  was 
its  Hottentot  driver.  He  explained  that  he  had  sent  on 
his  oxen  with  the  other  waggon,  as  they  would  pull  no 
longer.  Bnt  he  was  too  impatient  and  anxious  to  use  his 
long  whip  to  make  a  good  driver.  Finding  that  we  had 
ten  loose  oxen  that  were  capable  of  being  inspanned, 
although  some  were  too  old  and  others  too  young  for  the 
yoke,  we  made  up  a  '^  span  "  or  team,  and  resolved  to  do 
our  best  to  save  the  other  oxen  a  double  journey.  So  the 
Hottentot  and  I  did  the  driving  between  us,  he  with  the 
whip,  whilst  I  supplied  the  indispensable  calling  of  the 


JOUENEY  INTO  THE  INTERIOR.  121 

I 

names  of  the  x>xen,  and  general  shouting.  To  the  driver^s 
astonishment  the  waggon  which  fourteen  good  oxen  could 
not  pull,  ten  very  inferior  animals  were  now  pulling.  But 
then  the  difference  was  that  Hendrik  was  not  now  allowed 
to  thrash  right  and  left,  but  only  such  oxen  as  were  not 
palling.  There  is  more  skill  required  to  drive  a  heavily 
laden  waggdh. through  deep  sand  than  one  would  imagine. 
I  pity  the  traveller  who  finds  himself  in  this  wilderness 
with  either  bad  oxen  or  unskilful  drivers. 

At  Lotlakane  we  found  interesting  traces  of  our  friends 
Messrs.  Helmore  and  Price.  The  news  reached  us  at 
Kuruman  that  they  had  halted  for  the  summer  months  at 
a  certain  locality  in  the  interior,  and  that  Mr.  Helmore 
had  commenced  to  irrigate  a  patch  of  ground  for  a  garden. 
It  was  said  they  were  not  to  leave  this  spot  until  the 
unhealthy  season  had  passed.  This  rumour,  however,  was 
only  partially  correct  There  had  been  no  irrigation,  and 
no  prolonged  sta^.  My  friends  had  only  rested  here  for  a 
few  weeks*.  Their  enclosures  were  still  standing ;  and  the 
^Uasarwa  (Bushmen)  living  here  explained  to  me  where  the 
different  waggons  had  stood.  They  also  described  to  us 
the  great  sufferings  of  our  friends  from  thirst  in  crossing 
the  desert  out  of  which  we  had  now  happily  come.  Mrs. 
Helmore,  writing  in  the  hut  beside  which  my  waggon 
stood,  described  those  sufferings  to  a  sister  of  her  husband 
in  England — ^in  a  letter  from  which  I  give  the  following 
extracts : — 

**I  write  this  in  a  pretty  little  hut,  14  feet  by  12, 
built  by  your  brother.  The  walls  are  of  palmyra  wood, 
and  it  is  thatched  with  palmyra  leaves,  so  it  answers 
literally  to  the  name  we  have  given  it — Palmyra  Lodge^ 
and  though  rough-looking  on  the  outside  it  forms  a  delight- 
ful shelter  from  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun.  I  should 
tell  you  that  it  is  '^  hartebeest "  shape,  and  has  a  window 


122         NORTH  OF  THE  OBANGE  RIYEH. 

at  each  end,  with  thin  calico  instead  of  g^ass.  I  only  wish 
I  were  in  a  hnt  of  similar  description,  bat  of  larger  dimen- 
sions, north  of  the  Zambese,  instead  of  being  still  200 
miles  south  of  it,  with  the  prospect  of  another  six  weeks* 
jonmey ;  bat  I  mast  be  patient,  and  leave  fearing  for  the 
future  to  record  the  mercies  of  the  past, 

*'  The  last  stage  of  our  journey  has  been  without  excep- 
tion the  most  trying  time  of  travelling  I  have  experienced 
in  Africa.  We  are  now  within  the  tropics,  and  on 
a  journey  we  are  more  exposed  than  in  a  house;  the 
heat  during  the  day  ia  intense,  102"^  in  the  shade,  and 
often  affects  me  with  fsdntness  and  giddiness;  but  the 
early  mornings  are  still  pleasantly  cooL  We  may  expect 
rain  this  month,  and  are  longing  for  it,  as  those  only  can 
long  who  have  travelled  through  a  dry  and  parched  wilder- 
ness where  no  water  is.  Our  poor  oxen  were  at  one  time 
four,  at  another  five,  days  without  drink.  It  was  quite 
painful  to  see  how  tame  they  were  rendered  by  thirst; 
they  crowded  round  the  waggons,  licking  the  water-casks^ 
and  putting  their  noses  down  to  the  dishes  and  basins, 
and  then  looked  up  to  our  fiEu^es,  as  if  asking  for  water. 
We  suffered  very  much  ourselves  from  thirst,  being  obliged 
to  economize  the  little  we  had  in  our  vessels,  not  knowing 
when  we  should  get  more.  We  had  guides,  but  they 
either  could  not  or  would  not  give  us  any  information. 

^  Tuesday  the  6th  inst.  was  one  of  the  most  tr3ring  dajrs 
I  ever  passed.  About  sunrise,  the  poor  oxen,  which  had 
been  painfully  dragging  the  heavy  waggons  through  Uie 
deep  sand  during  the  night,  stopping  now  and  then  to 
draw  breath,  gave  signs  of  giving  up  altogether.  We 
had  not  gone  as  inany  miles  as  we  had  travelled  hours. 
My  husband  now  resolved  to  remain  behind  with  one 
waggon  and  a  single  man,  while  I  and  the  children  and 
the  rest  of  the  people  went  forward  with  all  the  oxen. 


JOUKNEY  INTO  THE  IKTEEIOR.  123 

thinking  that  w6  should  certainly  reach  water  by  night. 
We  bad  had  a  very  scanty  supply  the  day  before ;  the 
men  had  not  tasted  drink  since  breakfast  until  late  in  the 
evening.  We  divided  a  bottleful  among  four  of  them. 
There  now  remained  five  bottles  of  water;  I  gave  my 
husband  three,  and  reserved  two  for  the  children,  expect- 
ing that  we  should  get  water  first.  It  was  a  sorrowful 
psrtingy  for  we  were  all  faint  from  thirst,  and  of  course 
eating  was  out  of  the  question ;  we  were  afedd  even  to  do 
anything  lest  exercise  should  aggravate  our  thirst.  After 
dragging  slowly  on  for  four  hours  the  heat  obliged  us  to 
stop. 

"  The  poor  children  continually  asked  for  water ;  I  put 
them  off  as  long  as  I  could,  and  when  they  could  be  denied 
no  longer  doled  the  precious  fluid  out  a  spoonful  at  a  time 
to  each  of  them.  Poor  Selina  and  Henry  cried  bitterly. 
Willie  bore  up  manfully,  but  his  sunken  eyes  showed  how 
much  he  suffered.  Occasionally  I  observed  a  convulsive 
twitching  of  his  features,  showing  what  an  effort  he  was 
making  to  restrain  his  feelings.  As  for  dear  Lizzie,  she  did 
not  utter  a  word  of  complaint,  nor  even  asked  for  water,  but 
lay  all  the  day  on  the  ground  perfectly  quiet,  her  lips  quite 
parched  and  blackened.  About  sunset  we  made  another 
attempt,  and  got  on  about  five  miles.  The  people  then 
proposed  going  on  with  the  oxen  in  search  of  water,  pro- 
mising to  return  with  a  supply  to  the  waggon,  but  I  urged 
their  resting  a  little  and  then  making  another  attempt, 
that  we  might  possibly  get  near  enough  to  walk  on  to  it. 
They  yielded,  tied  up  the  poor  oxen  to  prevent  their 
wandering,  and  lay  down  to  sleep,  having  tasted  neither 
food  nor  drink  all  day.  None  of  us  could  eat.  I  gave 
the  children  a  little  dried  fruit,  slightly  acid,  in  the  middle 
of  the  day,  but  thirst  took  away  all  desire  to  eat.  Once 
in  the  course  of  the  afternoon  dear  Willie,  after  a  desperate 


124  NORTH  OF  THE  OBAKGE  RIVER. 

effort  not  to  cry,  suddenly  asked  me  if  he  might  go  and 
drain  the  bottles.     Of  course  I  consented,  and  presently 
he  called  out  to  me  with  much  eagerness  that  he  had 
*  found  some.'     Poor  little  fellow !  it  must  have  been  little 
indeed,  for  his  sister  Selina  had  drained  them  already. 
Soon  after  he  called  out  that  he  had  found  another  bottle 
of  water.     You  can  imagine, the  disappointment  when  I 
told  him  it  was  cocoa-nut  oil  melted  by  the  heat. — But 
this  is  a  digression :  I  must  go  back  to  our  outspanning 
about  nine  P.M.     The  water  was  long  since  gone,  and,  as  a 
last  resource,  just  before  dark,  I  divided  among  the  children 
half  a  teacupful  of  wine  and  water,  which  I  had  been 
reserving  in  case  I  should  feel  faint.     They  were  revived 
by  it,  and  said,  '  how  nice  it  was,'  though  it  scarcely  al- 
layed their  thirst     Heniy  at  length  cried  himself  to  sleep, 
and  the  rest  were  dozing  feverishly.     It  was  a  beautiful 
moonlight  night,  but  the  air  hot  and  sultry.     I  sat  in  front 
of  the  wi^gon  unable  to  sleep,  hoping  that  water  might 
arrive  before  the  children  awoke  on  another  day.     About 
half-past  ten  I  saw  some  persons  approaching  :  they  proved 
to  be  two  Bakalahari  bringing  a  tin  canteen  half-full  of 
water,  and  a  note  frt>m  Mrs.  Price,  saying,  that  having 
heard  of  the  trouble  we  were  in  from  the  man  whom  we 
had  sent  forward,  and  being  themselves  not  very  fiur  from 
the  water,  they  had  sent  us  all  they  had.     The  sound  of 
water  soon  roused  the  children,  who  had  tried  in  vain  to 
sleep,  and  I  shall  not  soon  forget  the  rush  they  made  to 
get  a  drink.     There  was  not  much,  but  enough  for  the 
present.     I  gave  each  of  the  children  and  men  a  cupful, 
and  then  drank  myself.     It  was  the  first  liquid  that  had 
entered  my  lips  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  I  had  eat^i 
nothing.     The  Bakalahari  passed  on,  after  depositing  the 
precious  treasure,  saying  that  though  they  had  brought  me 
water  they  had  none  for  themselves.     They  were  merely 


JOURNEY  INTO  THE  INTERIOR.  125 

passing  travelleriB.  I  almost  thought  thej  were  angels  sent 
from  Heaven.  All  now  slept  comfortably  except  myself; 
my  mind  had  been  too  much  excited  for  sleep.  And  now 
a  fresh  disturbance  arose :  the  poor  oxen  had  smelt  the 
water,  and  became  very  troublesome;  the  loose  cattle 
crowding  about  the  waggon,  licking  and  snuffing,  and 
pushing  their  noses  towards  me,  as  if  begging  for  water. 

^  At  two  o'clock  I  roused  the  men,  telling  them  that  if 
we  were  to  make  another  attempt  to  reach  water  no  time 
was  to  be  lost.  They  were  tired  and  faint,  and  very 
unwilling  to  move,  but  at .  last  they  got  up,  and  began 
to  unloose  the  oxen  and  drive  them  off  without  the 
waggon. 

"  I  remonstrated,  but  iii  vain ;  they  had  lost  all  spirit,^ 
'  lipelu  li  shule,*  as  the  Bechuanas  say.  I  was  obliged  to 
let  them  go,  but  they  assured  me  I  should  have  water  sent 
as  quickly  as  possible,  and  the  cattle  should  be  brought 
back  again  after  they  had  drunk.  They  knew  no  more 
than  I  did  the  distance  to  the  water. 

**  When  they  left  us,  I  felt  anxious  at  the  thought  of 
perhaps  spending  another  day  like  the  past;  but  they 
had  not  been  gone  more  than  half-an-hour,  when  I  saw  in 
the  br^ht  moonlight  a  figure  at  a  distance  coming  along 
the  road.  At  first  I  could  not  make  it  out,  it  looked  so 
tall;  but  on  coming  nearer,  who  should  it  prove. to  be  but 
my  servant-girl  Eionecoe,  eighteen  years  of  age,  carrying 
on  her  head  an  immense  calabash  of  water !  On  hearing 
of  our  distress  she  volunteered  to  assist  us.  She  bad 
walked  four  hours.  Another  servant  had  set  out  with  her, 
I>at  as  he  had  driven  the  sheep  the  day  before  a  great 
distance,  without  either  food  or  water,  he  became  so  ex-^ 
haasted  that  he  lay  down  under  a  bush  to  rest,  and  oh  the 
girl  came  alone,  in  the  dead  of  night,  in  a  strange  coimtry 
infested  with  lions,  bearing  her  precious  burden.     Oh,  how, 


126  NOBTH  OF  THB  ORANGE  BIVER. 

grateful  I  felt  to  her  I  Sorely  tooman  is  the  same  all  the 
world  over  I  She  had  only  lived  with  me  since  June,  was 
but  an  indifferent  servant,  and  had  never  shown  any  par- 
ticular attachment  to  the  children;  but  this  kind  act 
revealed  her  heart,  and  seemed  to  draw  us  more  closely 
together,  for  her  conduct  since  then  has  been  excellent.  I 
made  a  bed  for  her  beside  me  in  the  forepart  of  the 
waggon ;  and  the  children  having  slaked  their  thirst  with 
the  deliciously  cool  water,  we  all  slept  till  six  o'clock.  I 
made  coffee,  and  offered  some  to  Kionecoe  and  her  com- 
panion, who  had  now  come  up.  At  first  they  declined  it, 
saying  the  water  was  for  me  and  the  children.  I  had  now 
the  happiness  of  seeing  the  children  enjoy  a  meal  of  tea 
and  biscuits;  and  then  once  more  filling  up  my  two 
bottles,  I  sent  the  calabash  with  the  remainder  of  its  con- 
tents to  my  husband,  who  by  this  time  stood  greatly  in 
need  of  it.  The  distance  was  about  twelve  miles.  I 
afterwards  found  that  we  were  about  the  same  from  the 
water.  Another  hot  day  had  now  commenced,  and  I  had 
only  the  two  bottles  of  water.  About  noon  a  horseman 
rode  up,  leading  a  second  horse  with  two  watei^^asks,  and 
a  tin  canteen  on  his  back.  This  was  a  supply  for  your 
brother,  sent  by  our  kind  fellow-travellers.  Captain  and 
Mrs.  Thompson,^  who  had  heard  of  our  distresses  from  the 
Prices.  .  •  •  While  we  were  preparing  the  coffee,  up  came 
a  pack-ox  sent  by  Mr.  Price,  with  two  water-casks  for 
me,  and  soon  after  some  Bakalahari  arrived  with  a  cala- 
bash ;  so  we  had  now  an  abundant  supply,  and  my  heart 
overflowed  with  gratitude  to  our  Father  in  heaven,  who 
had  watched  over  me  and  mine,  as  over  Hagar  of  old,  and 
sent  us  relie£  I  related  that  and  other  instances  of  Gk>d'8 
care  to  the  children  the  day  before,  and  exhorted  them  to 

1  An  English  lady  and  gentleman  who,  on  their  marriage  tonr,  traTeOed 
tnm  Ci^  Town  to  Walvisch  Bay,  viA  Like  Ngamt 


JOURNEY  INTO  TBE  INTERIOR. 

pray  to  their  Iieavenlj'  Father,  and  rest  assured  that  1 
send  us  help ;  they  now  referred  to  the  Bubject,  st 
was  jost  as  I  had  said.'  .  .  .  Captain  and  Mrs.  T 
rode  Qp  to  the  waggon  in  the  afternoon,  to  see 
coiUd  be  of  any  further  assistance,  and  brought  a  li 
for  the  children.  ...  A  span  of  oxen  passed  n 
middle  of  the  day,  going  to  fetch  my  husband,  a 
half-past  nine  on  Wednesday  night  a  span  arrivei 
Next  morning  we  reached  the  water,  where  M 
had  kindly  prepared  a  substantial  breakfast.  My 
did  not  come  up  till  the  evening." 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

BUSHMAN  LAIO). 

We  had  now  come  into  contact  witli  tlie  vassalage  or 
slavery  which  is  practised  by  the  Bechnanas.  There  are 
two  distinct  races  held  in  subjection  in  this  cotintiy,  and 
we  now  met  with  specimens  of  both  at  every  foontaiiL 
Those  called  Bakalahari  are  Bechuanas,  whose  tribes  have 
been  worsted  in  former  contests,  and  who,  not  able  to  pre- 
serve their  own  independence,  "  khetha  "  or  pay  tribute  to 
a  powerful  neighbouring  chiefl  like  their  rulers,  these 
vassal-Bechuanas  are  not  all  of  one  tribe,  nor  do  they  all 
speak  the  same  dialect  of  Sechuana.  Within  the  memory 
of  those  now  living,  tribes  once  independent  have  been 
reduced  to  the  condition  of  Bakalahari ;  while  others  who 
had  been  long  Bakalahari,  have  been  called,  through  the 
grace  of  their  chief,  to  the  privileges  of  citizenship,  and 
appointed  a  place  in  the  town  of  the  tribe.  The  other 
subject  race  is  that  of  the  Bushmen,  called  Barwa  by  the 
Bechuanas  in  the  south,  and  Masarwa  by  those  in  the 
north  of  the  country.  The  relationship  between  the 
Bakalahari  and  their  masters  is  much  more  friendly  than 
that  between  the  same  masters  and  their  Bushmen.  The 
helplessness  of  the  Bakalahari  excites  the  contempt  of  their 
owners,  and  they  are  usually  spoken  of  with  the  diminutive 
form  of  the  word — ^Bakhalahatsane ;  but  otherwise  they 
are  regarded  as  "  bathu  hela" — "  like  other  people."     The 


BUSHMAN  LAND.  129 

master  therefore,  knowing  that  he  can  trost  to  instincts 
and  traditions  similar  to  his  own  in  the  mind  of  the  Ba- 
kalahari,  sends  his  flocks  and  sometimes  his  herds  to  be 
taken  care  of  by  his  vassals.  The  children  of  the  Bakala- 
hari  luxuriate  in  goats'  milk,  while  their  father  imagines 
himself  considerably  elevated  in  society  as  he  gazes  night 
and  morning  on  the  cattle  as  they  enter  and  leave  their  pen. 
When  the  owner  of  the  stock  now  and  then  makes  his 
appearance  at  the  post,  he  speaks  of  the  cattle  as  if  they 
belonged  to  the  Bakalahari ;  and  when  it  is  his  intention  to 
sell  or  to  slaughter  a  certain  animal  he  usually  announces  it, 
and  sometimes  even  goes  through  the  form  of  asking  permis- 
sion to  do  so,  although  all  the  cattle  belong  to  himsel£  The 
pastoral  instincts  of  the  Bakalahari  thus  find  full  occupa- 
tion, to  the  satisfaction  of  their  lord,  and  to  the  advantage 
of  the  vassals.  Then  the  master  provides  dogs  for  hunting 
— ^the  ivory  and  ostrich-feathers,  the  furs  and  skins,  to  be 
his,  the  meat  to  belong  to  the  Bakalahari  And  when  he 
visits  the  little  settlement,  it  is  usually  with  a  little  present 
of  some  tobacco  or  ^d  hemp  for  Loking.  or  a  clasp- 
knife  or  a  few  beads,  which  he  has  purchased  from  a  trader. 
He  now  receives  the  "  tribute  "  of  his  vassals,  staying  with 
them  a  longer  or  shorter  time  according  to  his  taste.  As 
among  Europeans,  there  are  some  Bechuanas  who  are 
happiest  when  *'  out  of  town "  and  in  the  hunting-field 
with  their  vassals.  It  is  only  at  the  positive  command  of 
the  chief  in  time  of  disturbance  that  such  Nimrods  reluc- 
tantly return  to  their  houses  in  the  town. 

But  the  Bushmen  seldom  secure  much  liking  or  con- 
sideration from  their  Bechuana  masters.  ^'Masarwa  a 
bolotsana  thata" — "Bushmen  are  great  rascals,"  "Ma- 
sarwa  ki  linoga  hela" — "Bushmen  are  perfect  snakes,*' 
are  remarks  often  heard  among  the  Bechuanas.  The  fact 
is,  there  is  less  in  common  between  the  two.     Their  allegi- 

I 


•■ 


130  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

ance  is  never  so  genuine,  and  while  they  yield  tribute  they 
hardly  conceal  their  contempt  for  their  masters.  The  Bush- 
man is  of  use  only  in  hunting.  When  his  Bechuana  master 
arrives  he  takes  possession  of  the  little  huts,  and  receives 
all  skins,  etc.,  which  the  family  have  collected.  And  now 
they  hunt  every  day  in  company,  the  Bushmen  with  their 
spears,  bows  and  arrows,  and  dogs — ^their  master  with  his 
spears,  or,  in  recent  years,  with  his  gun.  Woe  betide  the 
Bushmen  should  it  be  found  out  that  they  have  hidden 
away  part  of  the  produce,  or  that,  instead  of  keeping  the 
skins  for  his  master,  the  Bushman  has  ventured  to  make 
with  some  of  them  a  mantle  for  himself  or  his  wife !  Thus 
Bushmen  are  continually  on  the  alert  for  the  arrival  of 
their  masters  in  the  country ;  and  should  they  cross  the 
path  and  see  his  foot-mark  on  it,  they  are  able  to  recognise 
it  at  once,  and  if  possible  will  hasten  home  before  him  to 
hide  that  which  must  not  meet  the  eye  of  their  lord. 

Looked  at  in  this  connection,  it  is  not  difficult  to  account 
for  the  well-known  reluctance  of  Bechuana  chiefs  to  allow 
traders  and  travellers  to  pass  through  their  country.  The 
attempt  on  the  part  of  a  certain  trader  some  years  ago  to 
enter  the  Kalahari  country  to  the  west  of  Morokweng, 
from  which  the  Barolongs  are  in  the  habit  of  procuring 
their  ostrich-feathers,  cost  the  life  of  the  trader  and  that  (Xt 
his  son.  While  the  Bamangwato,  in  whose  country  I  was 
travelling,  participate  in  the  advantages  of  the  trade 
recently  begun  with  Europeans,  they  have  lost  property  to 
the  value  of  many  hundreds  of  pounds  through  the  open- 
ing up  of  the  waggon  roads  to  the  Lake  and  to  the  Zam- 
bese.  Both  roads  lead  through  districts  occupied  by  their 
vassals,  and  it  is  well  known  that  the  latter  do  not  hesitate 
to  keep  back  part  of  the  produce  from  their  masters,  and 
barter  with  it  themselves  as  soon  as  a  European  waggon 
makes  its  appearance.     On  the  present  journey  I  was  ire- 


BUSHMAN  LAND.  131 

qnently  offered  beautifiil  ostrich-feathers  for  a  bit  of 
tobacco  or  a  few  strings  of  beads.  Explainmg  to  them 
that  trading  was  not  my  object,  I  directed  them  to  Mebalwe, 
who,  having  previonslj  passed  through  the  country  in  the 
service  of  Dr.  Livingstone,  had  made  the  necessary  pre- 
parations for  this  trade  before  we  started,  and  was  able  to 
purchase  on  his  own  account  all  that  came  to  the  waggons. 
It  has  been  found  impossible  by  the  Bamangwato  to  stop 
this  "  contraband  "  trade.  They  began  with  severity,  and 
put  some  of  their  vassals  to  death  for  daring  to  sell  what 
belonged  to  their  masters.  But  they  found  that  severity 
did  not  answer  their  purpose,  and  so  the  masters  now  are 
in  point  of  fact  competitors  with  the  European  hunters  and 
traders  for  the  purchase  of  ivory  and  feathers  from  their 
own  vassals.  Of  course  they  do  not  acknowledge  that  they 
occupy  such  a  position,  but  the  "  presents  "  which  they  now 
give  their  vassals  are  every  year  more  handsome,  and 
the  whole  transaction  assumes  more  the  appearance  of 
barter  than  the  levying  of  tribute.  In  a  few  instances 
masters  have  intrusted  their  Bakalahari  and  Bushmen  with 
guns.  The  latter  take  to  this  weapon  at  once.  What 
with  their  skill  in  stalking,  and  their  steady  aim,  they  soon 
excel  their  master  in  its  use.  Public  opinion  is  against 
putting  such  dangerous  weapons  into  the  hands  of  the  ^  lower 
classes,"  as  an  unsafe  proceeding.  But  as  it  is  to  the  de- 
cided advantage  of  the  masters  it  is  increasingly  practised. 
It  is  very  interesting  to  observe  how  this  vassalage 
becomes  all  but  impracticable,  and  melts  away  before  the 
teachings  of  Christianity  and  the  increasing  intercourse 
which  now  obtains  among  tribes  that  were  formerly  isolated. 
The  missionaries  in  the  southern  district  of  Bechuana-land 
did  not  preach  directly  against  this  system;  but  they 
taught  that  the  love  and  mercy  of  God  were  toward  all, 
and  that  (rod  was  no  respecter  of  persons.     It  was  the 


132  NORTH  OF  THK  ORANGE  RIVER, 

custom  even  in  the  olden  time,  and  is  still  in  heathen 
towns,  that  if  a  slave  regarded  himself  as  ill-used  hy  his 
master,  or  thought  that  his  life  was  in  danger,  he  might 
flee  to  the  chief,  and  cast  himself  upon  his  protection.  If 
the  master  complained  of  was  a  favourite  with  the  chie^  h^ 
would  formally  reprove  him,  and  persuade  the  slave  to 
return  to  his  service.  But  if  a  chai^  of  cruelty  was 
proved  against  a  master  with  whom  the  chief  had  a 
quarrel,  he  would  at  once  release  the  slave  from  his  obliga- 
tions to  him,  and  provide  for  him  another  master.  It  can 
readily  be  seen  that  Christianity,  finding  the  slave  enjoying 
such  an  amount  of  liberty,  would  speedily  secure  for  him 
more.  Thus  in  the  southern  district,  and  especially  where 
Christian  churches  exist,  this  vassalage  exists  in  many  cases 
more  in  name  than  in  reality.  In  most  cases,  as  long  as 
the  vassals  remain  with  their  masters  they  receive  some 
kind  of  payment  for  their  service ;  and  when  they  go  away, 
there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  power  which  is  able  and 
ready  to  bring  them  back.  It  is  one  of  the  faults  which 
the  heathen  prefer  against  the  partially-Christianized  dis- 
trict in  the  south,  that  there  the  ^  batlanka  "  or  slaves  aie 
no  longer  under  their  masters'  control,  as  in  the  times  of 
undisturbed  heathenism.  Christianity  thus  quietly  lets  the 
oppressed  go  free,  and  breaks  every  yoke. 

But  while  imder  this  system  of  appeal  to  the  chief^  the 
lot  of  these  vassals  is  just  bearable  in  time  of  peace,  it  is 
beyond  conception  wretched  in  time  of  war.  I  do  not  mean 
war  among  themselves  in  the  country;  they  are  too 
poor  to  quarrel  seriously,  or  for  a  long  time:  but  they 
are  deeply  interested  in  all  the  political  questions  of  the 
town,  being  part  of  the  property  of  the  head  men, — a 
quarrel  among  whom  is  often  followed  up  in  the  countiy  in 
a  way  which  astonishes  as  it  shocks  the  Christian  man. 
The  contest  for  the  possession  of  certain  villages  of  Bakala- 


>^ 


BUSHMAN  LAND.  •  133 

hari  or  Bushmen,  is  a  fruitful  source  of  strife  in  Bechuana 
towns.  The  vassals  with  all  their  belongings  are  the  sub- 
ject of  litigation  and  endless  jealousies ;  and  it  needs  all 
the  skill  of  a  chief  to  settle  these  matters  between  greedy 
and  plausible  rivals.  When  a  decision  is  come  to,  the 
poor  people  in  the  country  are  hastily  "lifted"  by  the 
successful  litigant,  to  be  brought  back  again  should  he 
afterwards  lose  his  case.  When  rival  chiefs  fight  for 
supremacy  in  the  same  tribe,  the  condition  of  the  harmless 
vassals  is  wretched  in  the  extreme.  They  are  then 
scattered  and  peeled,  driven  hither  and  thither,  and  merci- 
lessly killed,  as  the  jealousy,  caprice,  or  revenge  of  their 
masters  may  dictate.  It  is  quite  fair  in  such  a  struggle  to 
kiU  all  the  vassals,  as  it  would  be  to  lift  the  cattle,  of  him 
who  cannot  be  displaced  from  his  chieftainship.  And  so 
with  the  varying  fortunes  of  a  "civil  war,"  the  vassals 
might  be  attacked  by  both  parties  in  turn. 

Again,  when  one  Bechuana  tribe  attacks  another,  the 
Bushmen  and  Bakalahari  belonging  to  both  are  placed  in 
the  same  category  with  cattle  and  sheep— they  are  to  be 
"lifted"  or  killed  as  opportunity  offers.  In  such  cases, 
therefore,  all  Bakalahari  and  Bushmen  flee  into  wastes 
and  inaccessible  forests,  and  hide  themselves  until  the  com- 
motion is  past. 

We  found  an  illustration  of  the  terror  and  mistrust  in 
which  these  people  live,  when  we  reached  the  fountain  of 
Xotlakane.  A  "  civil  war"  was  still  going  on,  in  an 
intermittent  fEtshion,  between  Macheng  and  Sekhome,  for 
the  chieftainship  of  the  Bamangwato  tribe.  It  mattered 
Uttle  to  these  serfs  who  the  chief  was  to  be ;  with  them 
the  important  question  was,  to  escape  both  parties  while 
the  strife  was  going  on.  And  so  for  the  first  night  we 
saw  nobody  at  Lotlakane ;  but  in  the  morning  my  men 
told  me  that  there  were  footmarks  of  Bushmen  all  round 


134  NORTH  OF  THE  OEANGE  RIVER. 

our  camp.  They  had  come  in  the  night  to  satisfy  them- 
selves  that  there  were  no  Bamangwate  in  my  party,  hefore 
they  ventured  to  come  amongst  ns.  How  they  distin- 
guished as  the  men  lay  asleep  between  the  two  Bakwena 
whom  I  had  hired  from  Sechele  and  Bamangwato,  I  know- 
not  ;  but  their  midnight  inspection  was  held  to  be  8atis£Eu>- 
tory,  and  next  day  several  made  their  appearance  at  our 
waggon.  It  was  affecting  to  witness  the  earnestness  with 
which  they  asked  if  the  Bamangwato  were  still  fighting 
among  themselves. 

While  travelling  through  their  country  we  always  invited 
the  Bakalahari  and  Masarwa  to  jom  us  at  our  morning 
service  on  Sunday.  The  women  laid  aside  their  ostrich 
egg-sheUs;  the  men  their  weapons  and  the  hunting-bag^ 
without  which  they  never  travel,  and  joined  our  Uttle 
congregation.  Mebalwe  was  wont  to  admonish  them  that 
'^  they  must  sit  still;  we  were  going  to  pray,  and  to  proclaim 
the  Word  of  Grod."  But  when  the  singing  began  they 
usually  struck  up  conversation  with  one  another  as  long  as 
it  lasted,  no  doubt  criticising  our  doings,  and  probably 
remarking  that  this  was  the  white  man's  way  to  make  his 
encampment  pure  and  safe.  Such  is  the  explanation  which 
I  have  heard  given  of  bur  worship.  What  message  has 
the  evangelist  to  these  children  of  the  desert  t  Nowhere 
have  I  felt  my  heart  more  thrilled  than  when  ddiveiing  to 
them  as  clearly  as  I  could  the  one  gospel  of  peace  and 
good-wilL  My  "  sermons  to  Bushmen  "  consisted  generally 
of  a  simple  recapitulation  of  the  leading  truths  of  Bevelar 
tion.  I  attempted  to  make  known  to  them  what  man 
discovers  not  for  himself,  but  what  the  Father  of  all  has 
mercifully  revealed.  In  order  to  address  men  on  the 
highest  subjects  with  effect,  it  is  necessary  that  the 
preacher  should  know  something  of  the  inner  life  of  his 
audience,  their  hopes  and  their  fears.      In  the  case  of 


BUSHMAN  LAND.  135 

the  Bashmen,  ignorance  of  their  language  has  always  been 
a  drawback  to  those  who  have  come  into  contact  with 
them.  But  careful  observation  of  their  habits,  as  well  as 
seeking  to  draw  them  out  in  conversation,  ought  to  lead  to 
some  knowledge  of  their  character.  I  can  say  vdth  truth 
that  no  class  of  people  excited  my  curiosity,  or  engaged 
my  attention  as  a  traveller  in  their  country,  more  than  the 
Bushmen.  Their  outward  degradation,  their  ignorance  of 
agriculture,  their  prejudice  against  the  possession  of  live 
stock,^  must  not  discourage  the  student  of  their  character 
from  continuing  his  inquiries. 

On  all  subjects  lying  within  the  range  of  the  Bushman's 
observation  you  will  meet  with  extreme  shrewdness  and 
intelligence.  The  Bushman  has  the  most  extensive  know- 
ledge of  the  materia  medica  of  the  country.  If  my  own 
medicines  were  not  available,  I  would  trust  myself  sooner 
to  the  care  of  a  Bushman  than  to  any  other  native  doctor. 
Nothing  can  exceed  the  skill  and  intelligence  of  the  Bush* 
man  as  a  himter,  and  an  observer  of  the  habits  of  the  wild 
animak.  And  as  to  religion,  if  I  am  not  greatly  mistaken, 
the  Bushmen  are  the  most "  superstitious  "  race  in  Southern 
Africa.  The  fact  that  they  are  so  peculiarly  dependent  for 
subsistence  upon  what  is  beyond  their  control  will  perhaps 
account  for  this.  With  other  natives  the  chief  season  of 
praying  and  necromancing  begins  when  they  have  sown 
their  com,  and  stand  in  need  of  rain.  But  all  seasons  are 
the  same  to  the  Bushman.  Therefore  whilst  he  is  most 
accomplished  in  everything  belonging  to  his  own  way  of 
life,  and  by  general  consent  the  guide  and  leader  of  every 

^  The  Madenassana  Bushmen  "  bina  **  the  common  goat ;  that  is  to  say, 
it  is  their  sacred  animal,  as  the  "  kwena  "  or  alligator  is  to  the  Bakwena. 
Now  Just  as  it  would  be  hateful  and  unlucky  to  the  Bakwena  to  meet  or 
gize  upon  the  alligator,  so  the  common  goat  is  the  object  of  "  religious  *' 
avenion  to  these  Bushmen ;  and  to  look  upon  it  would  be  to  render  tbe 
man  for  the  time  impure,  as  wqII  as  to  cause  him  undefined  uneasiness. 


t 


136  NOBTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER 

hunting  party  of  which  he  is  a  member,  he  conBtantly 
seeks  by  charms  and  by  spells  to  supply  his  own  deficiencies. 
Whether  the  European  has  bent  his  knee  in  prayer  or  not 
before  he  springs  to  the  saddle  in  the  morning  of  a  hunt, 
the  Bushman  has  not  failed  to  consult  his  ^oracles." 
Approaching  with  mysterious  and  confident  mien,  he 
announces  to  the  hunters  that  if  they  will  only  proceed 
in  a  given  direction  they  will  find  the  game  they  seek. 
In  short,  he  has  assumed  the  office  of  ^  seer  "  for  the  party. 
He  has  been  inquiring  of  his  dice  or  charms,  and  announces 
to  you  their  verdict  vdth  confidence.  K  you  still  hesitate, 
he  explains  to  you  that  Morimo  has  told  him  where  the 
game  is,  and  at  the  same  time  shakes  the  dice  which  he 
carries  round  his  neck.  K  you  smile,  and  say  that  these 
are  merely  bits  of  ivory  or  bone,  he  assents  at  once,  and 
would  readily  dispose  of  them  to  you  for  a  few  beads. 
But  then  at  the  earliest  opportunity  he  would  repair  the 
deficiency,  and  replace  them  by  another  set.  The  bits  of 
bone  are  nothing,  he  will  admit,  but  through  them  he 
**  makes  inquiry "  of  the  ex-human  if  not  super-human. 
No  party  of  Bushmen  would  consent  to  take  the  field 
without  these  charms.  Whoever  fancies  he  is  self-con* 
tained,  and  able  in  himself,  without  prayer,  or  without 
divining,  to  cope  with  the  difficulties  of  human  existence, 
the  Bushman  in  Bechuana-land  is  not.  I  believe  life  to  a 
Bushman  without  this  professed  addressing  something  oat 
of  and  beyond  himself  would  be  complete  misery. 

The  relics  of  a  tribal  rite  are  also  to  be  found  among  these 
Bushmen.  If  you  point  to  the  pierced  cartilage  of  the  nose, 
he  will  explain  to  you  that  that  was  done  when  he  was 
introduced  to  Bushman  manhood.  He  here  uses  the  word 
^  rupa,*'  which  in  Sechuana  means  the  introductory  cere- 
mony of  circumcision.  This,  then,  is  to  him  what  circnm- 
cision  is  to  the  Bechuanas.     You  point  to  certain  marks  on 


■'-», 


»T 


BUSHMAN  LAND.  137 

his  fSEu:e,  or  bits  of  wood  on  his  hair,  or  tied  round  his  neck. 
These  are  medicines  or  charms  to  be  taken  in  sickness,  or 
proximity  to  lions,  or  in  other  circumstances  of  danger. 
This  is  the  fetichism  which  is  common  throughout  A&ica 
at  the  present  time,  as  it  was  in  Europe  in  past  ages,  and 
which  is  not  unknown  in  our  own  day  in  rural  districts  of 
England  and  Scotland.^     If  you   point  to  the  dice,  the 
Bushman  will  say  that  they  are  "  Lilo  tsa  Morimo  oa  me," 
— "  Things  of  my  God."     He  will  add,  **  Lia  impul6l6la 
mahnku," — ^  They  teU  me  news."     If  he  does  not  know 
much  Sechuana,  he  will  point  to  them  and  say,  ^  Se  se 
Morimo,  se," — "  This  is  God."     As  in  the  other  cases,  this 
explanation  is  to  be  regarded  in  its  connection  with  such 
views  of  Morimo  as  are  known  to  these  Bushmen.     The 
Bushman   means  to  say  that  what  Morimo  is  to  the 
Bechuanas  and  to  you  his  dice  and  charms  are  to  him. 
To  affirm  from  such  data  that  the  Bushmen  have  a  definite 
notion  of  Morimo  (God)  would  be  to  say  too  much ;  to  say 
that  their  God  is  a  bit  of  ivory  or  bone  would  be  equally 
incorrect;  while  to  affirm  that  they  have  no  religion  or 
superstition  to  distinguish  them  from  the  brutes  that  perish 
is  entirely  false.     What  the  Presence  is  whose  proximity 
the  Bushman  never  questions,  what  the  Unseen  is  which 
can  always  be  appealed  to  by  means  of  dice,  is  a  question 

^  A  friend  of  mine  relates  an  anecdote  which  shows  that  fetichism  is  stiU 
practised  in  quarters  where  we  would  not  expect  to  find  it.  Some  years 
ago  a  company  was  assembled  in  a  private  house,  in  a  certain  town  in  Eng- 
land,  to  meet  a  weU-known  missionary  from  Africa.  The  conversation 
turned  upon  the  degradation  of  the  people  of  that  continent,  which  was 
forcibly  depicted  by  the  missionary,  who  made  special  mention  of  their 
foolish  trust  in  charms.  This  picture  of  spiritual  darkness  evoked  the 
commiseration  of  aU  present.  One  kind  lady  was  moved  to  tears.  But 
what  was  this  lady's  consternation,  what  the  scarcely-concealed  horror  of 
the  oompany,  when  she  inadvertently  drew  out  of  her  pocket,  with  her 
embroidered  handkerchief,  an  ugly  little  bit  of  bone,  which  fell  on  the 
carpet  before  the  missionary  and  aU  the  company  !  It  was  a  **  charm"  or 
"spell "  in  which  this  lady  devoutly  trusted. 


138  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

which  I  cannot  solve.  But  what  I  strenuously  affinn,  after 
careful  observation  and  inquiry  (chiefly  the  former,  for  the 
latter  is  often  misleading),  is  this,  that  although  below  the 
other  tribes  as  to  habits  of  civilisation  and  industry,  the 
Bushman  is  eminently  superstitious,  and  is  a  believer  in 
an  Invisible-Agency-in-hunian-affairs-distinct-iTom-man. 
The  Bushman  will  tell  you  in  Sechuana,  which  is  to  him  a 
foreign  language,  that  this  Agency  or  Agent  is  Morimo 
(God).     Who  has  a  better  explanation  Y 

In  sleeping  at  the  same  fire  with  Bushmen  or  Bakalahari 
you  are  sure  to  be  roused  twice  in  the  course  of  the  night, 
or  oftener,  by  the  rising  of  one  after  the  other  of  your  com- 
panions. Their  first  stretchings,  yawnings,  and  gmntings 
over,  they  assume  a  sitting  position  in  a  row  round  the 
fire,  which  they  replenish  with  fresh  logs.  Sometimes 
they  fall  asleep  in  this  position,  and  you  see  them  nodding 
over  the  flames.  When  they  lie  down  again  you  take 
notice  that  it  is  always  in  the  opposite  position  with  re- 
ference to  the  fire  from  that  which  they  last  occupied. 
Thus  if  they  had  their  backs  to  the  fire  before  they  got  up, 
they  now  turn  their  faces  to  it  EUtving  no  blanket  or 
covering  whatever,  except  a  little  skin  mantle,  which  just 
covers  their  shoulders,  it  is  only  by  repeated  "  turnings " 
that  they  are  able  to  keep  up  heat  in  their  bodies  durii^ 
the  cold  winter  nights.  Thus  their  bodies  are  always 
scorched  and  scarred,  and  generally  ^  over-done  "  on  both 
sides,  by  the  fire  at  night.  Before  the  day  is  fairly  broken 
you  again  hear  the  yawning  and  other  demonstrations — 
now  in  a  louder  tone.  As  the  light  increases  the  restless 
eye  of  the  Bushman  scans  the  heavens  with  a  close  scmtmy. 
On  the  groimd  also,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  he  seems  to 
notice  every  living  thing.  The  process  of  roasting  meat  on 
the  live  coals  now  commences ;  and  as  this  early  breakfiist 
goes  on  each  one  parenthetically  mentions  what  he  observes. 


L'. 


BUSHMAN  LAND.  139 

At  length  one  starts  to  his  feet.     What  has  he  descried  ? 

After  great  eflfbrt  you  can  just  see  "  manong "  or  vultures 

in  the  distance  sweeping  over  a  certain  spot.     Seizing  their 

weapons  two  or  three  men  start  at  once  in  that  direction ; 

they  hope  to  get  there  before  the  lion  has  finished  the 

antelope  or  zebra^  which  has  been  his  midnight  meal.     If 

they  find  the  killer  of  the  prey  still  at  his  repast,  with  a 

jackal  yenturing  to  approach  the   opposite  end,  while 

hyenas  or  younger  lions  bide  their  time  at  a  distance — 

the  Bushmen,   who  have  been   talking  loudly  as  they 

approached,  to  give  due  notice  of  their  arrival,  now  shout 

at  the  top  of  their  voice,  rattle  their  spears,  break  off 

decayed  branches  from  trees,  or  shake  their  mantles,  to 

firighten  the  lion  and  his  courtiers,  who  retire  into  the 

adjoining  thicket.     Ever3rthing  is  now  collected  which  is 

at  all  edible,  and  carried  to  the  encampment.     Should 

their  visit  be  too  late,  and  they  find  only  bits  of  bone  and 

hide  and  hoofs  to  reward  them  for  their  trouble,  all  these 

are  collected  and  brought  away;   the  vulture  and   the 

hyena  or  jackal  finding  little  to  pick  up  after  the  visit  of 

the  Bushman.     Thus  although  Bakalahari  object  to  Uons 

in  their  vicinity,  on  account  of  the  live  stock  which  they 

are  rearing  for  themselves  and  their  masters,  the  Bushmen 

do  not  at  all  object  to  this  proximity,  for  they  have  a  good 

deal  to  gain  from  it,  and  if  they  only  keep  up  a  good  fire 

at  night  in  self-preservation  they  have  nothing  whatever 

to  lose. 

Our  oxen  having  had  several  days'  rest  in  a  district  weU 
adapted  for  grazing,  we  left  Lotlakane  on  Monday  the  6th 
August,  and  reached  Nchokotsa  late  at  night  It  is 
situated  at  the  side  of  what  must  have  been  a  large  lake, 
but  is  now  perfectly  bare  and  dry.  The  water  here  is 
impregnated  with  salt,  and  its  name  testifies  to  its  effects 
on  the  system — the  verb  "  chokotsa"  meaning  to  wash  or 


140  NORTH  OF  THE  OBANOE  RIVEB. 

rinse  out  any  vessel  There  are  three  separate  wells  or 
'^  eyes "  to  this  fountain ;  the  upper  one  being  so  unbear- 
ably nauseous  that  the  oxen,  althou^  veiy  thirsty,  would 
not  drink  the  water.  The  second  was  a  little  improved 
by  percolation,  and  the  oxen  drank  from  it.  The  third 
well,  a  little  fishrther  down  the  slope,  was  cleaned  out  for 
our  own  use.  It  was  the  best  of  the  three,  but  this  '^best" 
was  very  bad.  We  could  not  drink  coffee  made  with  it 
I  swallowed  a  cup  of  water  at  breakfast,  as  a  child  takes 
a  dose  of  medicine,  and  Mrs.  Mackenzie  drank  nothing  as 
long  as  we  were  here. 

We  had  now  reached  the  point  where  my  men's  know- 
ledge of  the  road  failed  them.  Two  of  them  had  been 
farther,  but  it  had  been  towards  the  west,  and  along  the 
bank  of  the  Zouga  or  Botletle  river.  As  Dr.  Livingstone's 
road,  which  I  had  determined  to  follow,  struck  out  to  the 
north  here,  but  was  entirely  effaced,  it  was  necessary  for 
us  to  obtain  the  assistance  of  guides.  But  how  was  this  to 
be  done  Y  We  saw  the  fresh  footmarks  of  Bushmen  at  the 
fountain ;  but  no  one  ventured  near  our  waggon.  One  of 
my  Hottentots  suggested  that  they  were  sure  to  come  in  the 
night  to  draw  water,  and  volunteered  to  form  one  of  two  men 
to  watch  for  them  at  the  fountain.  Towards  evening,  how- 
ever, this  man  told  me  that  the  water  had  made  him  too  ill 
to  watch  for  guides,  and  next  morning  we  found  that  no  one 
had  drawn  water  in  the  night.  Leaving  instructions  with 
the  men  to  search  for  Bushmen  and  also  for  waggon-tracks 
to  the  north,  I  went  out  on  horseback,  accompanied  by  <Hie 
man,  in  the  hope  of  finding  some  of  these  poor  terrified 
creatures,  who,  we  felt  sure,  could  not  be  far  away,  although 
afraid  to  make  themselves  known.  After  making  a  wide 
circuit  we  at  length  found  in  a  large  mopane  forest  a  well- 
beaten  path,  on  which  were  fresh  tracks.  After  proceeding 
some  distance  on  this  footpath  we  came  upon  a  deserted 


BUSHMAK  LAND.  141 

Tillage.  Making  a  short  circuit  we  found  the  tracks  again ; 
but  as  there  was  now  no  beaten  path  we  followed  them 
with  some  difficulty.  We  had  proceeded  some  miles  into 
die  forest,  when  we  came  upon  a  recently  built  village, 
which,  however,  was  without  inhabitant.  We  found  evi- 
dences that  its  occupants  had  only  recently  left  it;  and 
after  careful  search  discovered  tracks  leading  still  farther 
into  the  depths  of  the  forest.  It  was  now  past  mid-day, 
and  we  resolved  to  return  to  the  waggons  in  the  hope  that 
the  other  parties  had  met  with  greater  success  than  our- 
selves. As  we  were  returning  we  espied  in  the  distance 
what  my  companion  pronounced  to  be  a  Bushman,  the 
object  of  our  long  search.  He  gave  us  a  short  race,  but  on 
our  nearer  approach  coolly  sat  down,  apparently  satisfied 
as  to  our  trustworthiness,  and  afterwards  consented  to 
accompany  us  to  the  waggons.  We  found  that  my  men 
had  been  even  more  successful,  for  there  were  now  dozens 
of  Bushmen  at  the  fire,  and  as  many  women  in  a  group  in 
front  of  my  waggon,  gazing  upon  the  wife  of  a  Lekoa 
(Englishman)  with  her  little  child.  The  driver  of  my 
waggon  explained  that  he  had  observed  a  woman  creeping 
up  to  the  fountain,  and  had  seized  her;  ^when  to  my  sur- 
prise,** he  added,  "every  bush  aroimd  me  produced  its 
Bushman,  although  I  had  not  seen  one  before.'*  This  skill 
in  hiding  himself  from  view  with  little  or  no  cover  is  pos- 
sessed by  the  Bushmen  in  a  superlative  degree.  Holding 
a  bit  of  bush  or  a  bunch  of  grass  before  him,  he  will  stalk 
game  upon  a  plain  entirely  without  cover,  and  get  within 
range,  the  game  all  the  while  looking  at  him.  Let  a 
clumsier  man  try  the  same  thing,  and  they  set  off  at  once. 
As  soon  as  the  Bushmen  were  assured  that  the  wagons 
belonged  to  an  Englishman,  and  that  amongst  all  the  ser- 
vants there  were  no  Bamangwato,  they  came  to  the  camp 
without  hesitation.    ELhosimore  also  informed  me,  with  some 


"*r- 


142  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

pride,  that  he  had  discovered  the  waggon-track,  and  going 
with  him  I  found  proceeding  northwards  several  faint 
traces  of  it  in  the  sand  and  rubbish  collected  round  the 
roots  of  small  bushes.  I  learned  afterwards  that  Messrs. 
Helmore  and  Price's  waggons  had  taken  a  course  to  the 
west  of  this  in  leaving  Nchokotsa,  so  that  the  track  dis- 
covered by  this  sharp-eyed  individual  must  have  been  one 
of  an  earlier  date. 

On  Friday  the  10th,  we  crossed  the  Zouga  or  Botletle 
river,  which  here  runs  nearly  due  east.  At  the  ford 
here  I  found  it  nearly  dry,  and  brackish.  We  sent  our 
oxen  and  drinking-vessels  some  distance  up  the  river, 
where  there  was  more  water  in  its  bed,  and  where  we 
found  the  water  was  quite  fresh.  We  were  here  told  by 
our  guides  from  Nchokotsa  that  this  was  the  boundary  of 
their  territory,  and  that  if  I  wanted  guides  I  must  hire 
them  fit)m  the  Bakhurutse,  a  few  of  the  remnants  of  a 
formerly  powerful  tribe,  now  living  here  in  vassalage  to 
the  Bamangwato.  I  found  in  this  district  that  territory 
is  narrowly  defined  among  Bushmen  and  other  vassals. 
They  may  himt,  or  dig  up  roots,  or  act  as  guides  in  their 
own  coimtry,  but  not  beyond  it.  I  was  told  that  to  cross 
the  boundary  would  be  to  "  rumola  "  or  **  pick  a  quarrel  ** 
with  their  neighbours;  and  such  disputes  might  become 
serious,  because  ^'trespassers''  not  only  infringe  on  the 
rights  of  the  Bushman  in  the  country,  but  upon  the 
"  vested  interests  "  of  their  lord,  the  grandee  of  the  town. 
No  gamekeeper  could  be  more  exact  as  to  the  boundaries 
of  his  master^s  shootings  than  were  the  Bushmen  of  their 
prescriptive  rights  to  a  certain  portion  of  this  dreaiy  part 
of  the  interior  of  Africa.  The  Bakhurutse  at  first  refused 
to  act  as  guides,  unless  we  remained  at  their  village  during 
the  night ;  but  upon  my  refusing  to  do  this,  s<mie  of  the 
men  followed  us  and  came  up  to  our  fire  at  night,  laden 


'  -*_..- 


J 


,  -^        :  t 


BUSHMAN  LAND.  143 

with  ptunpkins  and  tobacco,  which  they  offerejUor  sale. 
They  no  doubt  wished  to  detain  us  in  the  hoj(e  of  driving 
a  profitable  trade. 

On  Saturday  morning  we  reached  Kube,, 'where  we  re- 
solved to  spend  the  Sunday.  We  dug  ou^  the  fountain, 
and  put  a  thorn  hedge  round  it,  to  preserve  the  water 
from  the  game,  which  was  here  very  abundant.  Mosisane, 
the  chief  of  the  little  village,  and  his  people,  assisted  in  the 
digging,  declining .  to  use  the  spade  which  I  offered  them, 
it  being  "  only  for  white  people."  On  Sunday,  as  the  men 
came  up  to  our  morning  service,  the  dust  washed  off,  and 
dressed  in  their  best  clothes,  the  contrast  between  them 
and  Mosisane  and  his  people  was  sufficiently  striking. 
And  yet  socially  they  were  people  of  the  same  standing, 
liost  of  my  Kuruman  men  were  Batshwene  who  were 
-vassals  of  the  Batlaping,  and  who  to  this  day  are  regarded 
by  that  tribe  as  inferiors.  Mosisane  and  his  people  were 
also  vassals  of  a  Bechuana  tribe.  But  what  a  difference, 
not  only  in  the  appearance,  but  in  the  thoughts  and  life  of 
the  two,  as  they  sat  down  together  in  the  shade  of  the 
waggons  to  worship  God !  Some  of  the  vassals  from  the 
south  had  become  free  indeed,  through  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  here  were  the  same  elements  to  work  upon, 
only  how  could  they  "  believe  in  him  of  whom  they  had 
not  heard"  1 

The  service  over,  my  herd-boy  advanced  with  part  of  the 
flesh  of  a  young  kukama  on  his  shoulder.  As  he  threw  down 
his  burden  upon  the  heap  of  firewood,  he  told  me  with  some 
pride  that  the  kukama  had  been  run  down  and  killed  by 
a  v^y  fine  dog  which  I  then  possessed.  Norval  seemed  to 
understand  what  was  being  said,  and  came  up  wagging  his 
tail  I  said  to  the  boy  that  I  hoped  he  had  not  forgotten 
the  '^  great  day  "  and  his  cattle  at  the  same  time,  and  gone 
hunting  with  the  dog  1     "  No ;   the  dog  had  gone  of  his 


144  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

own  accord  only,"  was  the  answer.     This  feat  on  the  part 
of  Nonral  was  the  cause  of  my  losing  him.     The  Bush- 
men thought  he  would  exactly  suit  them;   and  when  I 
crossed  the  Ntwetwe  salt-pan  my  dog  was  missing.     I 
afterwards  heard  where  he  was,  and  sent  one  of  my  men 
for  him;  but  his  new  master  secreted  him  in  the  reeds  of 
the  Botletle ;  and  when  my  man  arrived  he  admitted  that 
he  had  had  the  dog,  but  deckred  it  had  been  killed  while 
baiting  a  bufialo.     He  sent  me  a  few  jackal  skins  to  "  make 
my  heart  white"  on  the  subject     But  the  dog  was  alive 
long  after  this,  and  its  fame  for  strength  and  daring  spread 
along  both  banks  of  the  river.     The  Bushmen   do  not 
covet  anything  about  an  Englishman's  waggon  so  much  as 
a  good  dog.     Their  own  dogs  are  always  in  good  condition 
— a  perfect  contrast  to  those  of  the  Bakalahari,  or  even 
the  Bechuanas,  which  I  have  often  seen  die  of  hunger 
before  their  masters'  eyes.     No  one  in  our  party  missed 
Norval  so  much  as  our  little  child,  to  whom  his  gentleness 
and  patience   knew  no  bounds.     The  little  hands  daily 
poked  his  eyes  and  played  with  his  formidable  mouth  and 
teeth,  while  the  party  rested  in  the  heat  of  noon-day. 
Another  camp-follower,  exceedingly  tame  before,  seemed  to 
become  more  so  aft^r  the  loss  of  our  dog.     This  was  a 
milch-goat  which  I  had  purchased  at  Kanye  for  our  child's 
special  behoof     When  crossing  the  driest  parts  of  the 
country,  this  useful  creature  never  failed  to  give  a  little 
milk,  which  made  the  oatmeal  porridge  of  our  child  very- 
nourishing  as  well  as  palatable.     We  were  never  so  destitute 
of  water  as  not  to  have  just  a  basinftd  with  which  to  make 
ourselves  believe  that  we  had  washed  our  faces.     On  such 
occasions  the  goat  knew  what  was  going  on  in  the  waggon, 
and  was  ready  to  drink  up  water  which  had  already  been 
so  usefully  employed. 

The   first  night  after  leaving  Kube  we  slept  in  the 


BUSHMAN  LAND.  145 

middle  of  Ntwetwe,  an  immense  plain,  entirely  devoid  of 
vegetation,  except  here  and  there  a  sandy  mound  covered 
with  a  rough  kind  of  grass.  In  the  morning  we  found 
that  on  every  side,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  there 
extended  what  has  probably,  been  the  bed  of  an  inland 
sea,  but  is  now  completely  dry  in  winter,  and  gradually 
curtailed  and  intersected  by  the  advance  of  vegetation. 
Farther  north  I  came  upon  a  "pan"  in  which  this  process 
had  been  completed;  vegetation  extended  from  one  end 
of  it  to  the  other.  Ntwetwe  becomes  impassable  in  the 
rainy  season ; 'still  receiving,  it  would  seem,  a  consider- 
able quantity  of  water  from  the  drainage  of  the  surround- 
ing country,  although  not  nearly  so  much  as  before.  I 
found  here  unmistakeable  marks  of  the  difficulties  into 
which  Mr.  Helmore's  waggons  had  got.  They  had  sunk 
down  in  the  mud ;  and  here  lay  broken  waggon-poles  and 
other  furniture,  indicative  of  an  ox-waggon  in  a  "stick- 
fast"  condition.  At  the  north  side  of  the  pan  we  halted 
at  the  first  mowana  or  baobab-tree  on  this  road,  the  large 
trunk  of  which  I  found  well  covered  with  names.  I  was 
glad  to  see  that  of  Mr.  Price,  the  incision  still  looking 
fresh,  tn  another  part  of  the  tree — the  letters  nearly 
closed  by  the  growth  of  the  bark — I  saw  the  initials 
**  L.  and  0.,"  with  a  date  which  I  have  forgotten ;  but  no 
doubt  commemorative  of  one  of  Livingstone  and  Oswell's 
visits  to  the  interior.  Leaving  this  mowana  halting-place, 
we  came  in  the  evening  to  a  Masarwa  village — ^the  chief 
of  which  was  called  Mosheu.  As  usual  we  had  to  procure 
fresh  guides.  On  Wednesday  we  had  no  water  for  the 
oxen,  although  we  passed  small  wells  which  supplied  our 
own  wants.  This  forenoon,  as  very  often  on  this  journey, 
I  had  to  exercise  my  skill  as  waggon-mender.  I  had  to 
put  in  a  false  nave  in  one  of  the  wheels,  which,  with  my 
materials,  was  a  most  difficult  undertaking.     A  shoemaker 

K 


146  NOBTH  OF  THE  OBANGE  BIVER. 

or  a  cabinetmaker  making  and  inserting  a  set  of  false 
teeth  under  compulsion,  would  be  in  a  position  somewhat 
analogous  to  mine  on  this  occasion. 

As  I  saw  the  work  would  take  me  some  time,  I  sent  on 
the  rest  of  the  waggons,  and  followed,  as  soon  as  we  were 
ready,  in  the  one  which  I  had  been  repairing.  It  was 
long  dark  before  we  reached  the  other  waggons ;  and  we 
had  no  moonlight.  The  sand  was  deep,  and  we  had  some 
difSculty  in  getting  the  oxen  to  pull  the  waggon  throu^ 
it.  I  was  heartily  thankful  when  we  reached  the  encamp- 
ment, and  the  day's  work  was  over.  A  few  minutes  after 
our  arriyal,  and  while  drinking  a  refreshing  cup  of  coffee, 
I  heard  a  peculiar  noise  in  the  direction  in  which  the 
cattle  and  horses  were  grazing.  ^  That 's  the  death-ciy  of 
something!"  exclaimed  one  of  the  leaders,  a  very  sharp 
lad.  I  ordered  the  cattle  to  be  brought  by  the  herds,  and 
secured  to  the  waggons.  Those  for  which  we  had  no 
fSastenings  were  driven  between  the  waggons,  and  a  third 
fire  was  lighted,  so  as  the  more  effectually  to  protect  them. 
When  the  lad  who  herded  the  horses  appeared,  he  had 
only  one  horse ;  that  belonging  to  Hendnk  was  amissing. 
The  boy  said  he  had  seen  it  a  little  before  along  with 
mine.  As  they  were  never  known  to  be  separate  when 
grazing,  I  suspected  that  it  was  the  Hottentot's  horse 
which  had  given  the  strange  cry  a  little  before.  I  noticed 
that  the  oxen  that  were  not  tied  up  were  ill  at  ease,  and 
not  disposed  to  lie  down  as  usuaL  Fearing  lest  some 
sudden  fright  might  alarm  them,  I  sat  up  most  of  the 
night.  But  although  I  listened  intently,  I  could  not  hear 
the  slightest  unusual  sound;  and  troops  of  zebras  came  near 
to  us,  standing  neighing  and  snorting,  and  apparently  not 
suspecting  the  proximity  of  the  lion.  I  roused  the  men  in 
the  morning,  and  proceeded  towards  the  place  fit>m  whidi 
we  heard  the  '^  bokwalela,"  or  death-scream^  the  night 


BUSHMAN  LAND.  147 

before.  Mounting  an  eminence  which  had  intercepted  onr 
Tiew  when  at  the  wagons,  we  beheld,  not  a  hundred  yards 
from  us,  a  large  dark-maned  lion  raise  his  head  from  the 
inside  of  poor  Hendrik's  horse^  in  which  he  had  been 
excavating.  Click  went  one  man's  gun — ^bang  went 
Hendrik's,  who  shouted,  "  Dat's  raak  1 — I  Ve  hit  him  I "  I 
was  for  reserving  our  fire  and  going  a  little  nearer.  As 
soon  as  he  saw  us  approaching,  the  lion  gave  up  devouring; 
when  the  gun  was  fired  he  began  to  retreat.  It  was  now 
my  time  to  fire.  My  bullet  threw  up  the  dust  among  his 
feet,  and  caused  him  to  change  his  walk  into  a  trot ;  and 
that  was  alL  It  was  as  good  a  shot  as  I  had  often  made 
at  game;  ^very  good  for  a  b^inner/'  an  encouraging 
friend  would  have  said ;  but  alas !  not  the  shot  to  make 
the  lion  mine,  or  to  avenge  the  death  of  the  horse.  We 
now  went  up  to  the  carcase  of  the  horse.  Hendrik,  ex- 
amining the  spoor  of  the  lion,  said,  *'  I  told  you  I  hit  h\m  • 
here  is  the  blood  on  his  spoor.  He  killed  my  horse ;  he 's 
sore  to  die."  The  other  driver  readily  assented  to  this. 
I  had  my  own  private  opinion  that  it  was  the  horse's 
blood  dropping  from  the  beard  and  mane  of  the  lion.  A 
few  minutes'  walk  on  the  track  would  have  settled  the 
question ;  but  I  had  no  wish  to  rob  Hendrik  of  the  satis- 
£au;tion  which  his  view  seemed  to  give  him. 

A  Bushnum  who  came  up  to  our  fire  this  morning  in- 
formed us  that  he  had  seen  a  lion's  track  on  the  waggon- 
road  for  miles,  and  that  it  came  close  up  to  the  encampment. 
As  the  death  of  the  horse  took  place  immediately  after  our 
arrival,  it  would  seem  that  the  lion  had  been  our  close 
attendant  the  night  before,  as  Hendrik  and  I,  walking  along- 
side the  oxen,  and  urging  them  to  pull, — ^now  stumbling 
over  a  thorn-bush,  and  now  falling  into  a  hole, — ^toiled  on  in 
the  darkness  till  we  reached  the  camp-fire.  The  Bushmen 
infSormed  us  very  gravely  that  the  lions  in  this  district  were 


148  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

"  bogale  thata," — very  fierce  or  savage.  They  seemed  fully 
to  believe  in  differences  of  disposition  among  them.  And 
they  certainly  ought  to  be  the  best  judges,  for  every  petty 
chief  here  had  a  lion-skin  on  his  shoulders,  as  a  mantle. 

On  Thursday  the  IGth^  we  reached  Mokantse's  village. 
The  people  in  this  region  are  called  Madenassana,  although 
the  name  Masarwa  is  also  applied  to  them,  as  to  the  other 
Bushmen.  I  remarked  the  height  and  strength  of  limb  of 
these  people,  and  the  immense  quantities  of  meat  which 
were  hanging  about  their  huts,  cut  up  into  stripes  and  left 
to  dry  in  the  sun.  We  have  here  Bushmen  living  in 
plenty ;  the  exertion  necessary  to  obtain  their  food  being 
not  more  than  sufficient  to  develop  their  physical  powers. 
They  think  as  little  of  agriculture  or  a  pastoral  life  as 
those  fisirther  south;  but  they  live  in  a  milder  dimate, 
and  with  the  means  of  subsistence  within  easy  reach. 

While  I  was  sitting  talking  with  a  party  of  these  Bush- 
men, my  wife  came  to  inform  me  that  something  unusual 
was  going  on  among  the  men.  Khosimore  had  refused  to 
do  his  usual  work,  saying  that  there  was  to  be  a  meeting 
of  the  men,  and  he  wished  to  be  present.  On  making  my 
appearance  among  them,  I  found  that  the  Hottentot  whose 
horse  had  been  killed  was  endeavouring  to  concoct  a  veri- 
table ''strike,"  and  thus  induce  me  to  agree  to  pay  for 
the  horse.  Thinking  he  had  gained  his  point  with  the 
men,  he  addressed  to  me  his  ultimatum,  which  was  to  the 
effect,  that  if  I  did  not  consent  to  pay  for  his  horse,  which 
he  said  had  died  in  my  service,  he  would  go  back  at  once  to 
Kuruman,  and  all  the  men  would  go  with  him.  He  said  he 
was  not  a  common  driver ;  he  had  come  with  me  for  the 
sake  of  hunting  elephants  on  his  return.  His  horse  was  now- 
dead.  He  did  not  care  for  mere  driver's  wages.  I  waited 
till  I  should  hear  what  the  rest  would  say,  but  no  one 
spoke.  I  saw  through  Hendrik's  clumsy  scheme,  and  said 
plainly  I  did  not  mean  to  be  frightened  by  any  one  to  do 


BUSHMAN  LAND.  149 

what  I  did  not  see  to  be  right.  I  had  promised  to  herd 
his  horse  with  my  own,  and  had  done  so.  Where  was  my 
horse  when  his  was  taken  ?  Were  they  not  both  together, 
and  was  not  the  herd  in  their  neighbourhood  at  the  time  ? 
If  Hendrik  left  me,  I  should  be  sorry  for  his  own  sake,  as 
the  distance  was  very  great  for  one  man  to  travel ;  and  as 
to  the  rest  leaving  me  because  I  would  not  do  what  he 
desired  me,  I  had  yet  to  hear  it  from  their  own  mouth.  But 
even  if  I  were  left  alone  here,  or  left  with  few  men,  my  case 
was  not  hopeless ;  there  was  plenty  of  grass  and  water,  and  I 
should  take  time  to  consider  what  to  do.  In  a  few  minutes 
Hendrik  gave  it  up ;  and  every  one  went  about  his  work  as- 
usual  Of  course  no  one  really  thought  of  going  back ;  but 
Hendrik  imagined  he  could  get  me  to  pay  for  the  horse ; 
and  some  of  the  men  seemed  to  think  that  if  he  got  me 
frightened  it  was  no  matter  of  theirs  :  they  would  counte- 
nance his  scheme  so  far  as  to  give  him  a  chance  of  trying  it. 
When  it  failed,  the  thing  was  no  longer  heard  of.  Not 
even  Hendrik  was  sour-faced  a  day  after. 

On  Friday  the  17th,  we  reached  the  fountain  called 
Maila,  where  we  found  a  small  town  of  Makalaka,  under 
Putse,  a  tall  and  very  dark  man.  We  had  here  another 
illustration  of  the  strength  of  hereditary  prejudices  or  prin- 
ciples as  to  the  manners  and  customs  of  a  tribe.  The  game 
was  here  more  plentiful  than  we  had  before  seen  it.  Vast 
herds  of  buffaloes  rushed  past  our  waggon  as  we  approached 
the  water.  Troops  of  zebras  and  gnus  were  to  be  seen  in 
several  directions.  The  smaller  antelopes  abounded  ;  the 
tracks  of  the  rhinoceros  were  numerous ;  while  elands  and 
giraffes  grazed  not  more  than  two  miles  from  our  waggons. 
And  yet  these  Makalaka  were  starving.  Although  they  were 
the  best  agriculturists  in  Bechuana-land  their  tribal  educa- 
tion did  not  include  the  arts  of  the  Bushman.  We  found  the 
dead  body  of  a  man  in  the  forest,  but  slightly  covered  with 
brushwood,  and  we  were  told  that  he  had  diedforwantof  food. 


160  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

^  What  are  you  eating]"  I  asked  Patse  in  native  style. 

"  Nothing  whatever,  sir,"  he  replied ;  "  he  has  not  killed 
anything  lately." 

A  servant  standing  by  explained  that  ^he"  meant  that 
the  lion  had  not  brought  down  anything  in  their  neigh- 
bourhood which  they  might  share  with  him. 

Not  long  after  my  arrival  here,  I  walked  out  alone  with 
my  gun.  The  zebras  were  within  sight,  and  as  I  had  lately 
killed  one,  I  had  a  sort  of  confidence  in  trying  them  ag2un. 
I  was  not,  however,  successful  on  this  occasion,  and  was 
wending  my  way  to  the  waggons  by  one  of  the  numerous 
beaten  game-paths  leading  to  the  fountain,  engrossed  in 
thought  and  paying  very  little  attention  to  objects  around 
me,  when  something  prompted  me  to  look  up  at  the  branches 
of  a  tree  under  which  the  path  was  leading  me.  There 
hung  at  a  considerable  height  a  log  of  wood  about  four  feet 
long  and  some  six  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  large  assegai 
at  its  end  pointing  towards  the  ground.  A  line  which  was 
attached  to  the  upper  end  of  this  horrid  weapon,  came  down 
across  the  path  in  front  of  me,  and  was  so  secured  that  any 
animal  going  along  the  path,  by  disturbing  the  line  would 
receive  the  heavily-loaded  lance  from  above.  A  few  more 
paces  and  this  would  have  been  my  fate.  I  thanked  God 
and  passed  on.  When  I  came  to  the  fountain  I  expostn- 
lated  with  Putse,  the  chief,  for  not  performing  a  duty  which 
is  always  observed  by  chiefs  and  head  men — to  inform 
strangers  of  all  game-pits,  poisonous  plants,  or  tsetse-fly  in 
in  their  neighbourhood." 

"Who  would  have  thought  of  your  turning  up  over  theret 
Did  you  not  start  in  quite  another  direction  1  I  am  Borry  ; 
but  we  are  so  hungry  that  I  did  not  wish  to  take  down  the 
trap  till  to-morrow." 

Towards  the  north-west  this  plan  of  killing  game  is 
extensively  followed;  even  elephants  are  killed  by  this 
suspended  lance,  which  is  sometimes  rendered  more  deadly 


BUSHMAN  LAND.  151 

by  being  mbbed  over  with  poison  like  the  Bushmen's 
arrows. 

On  arriving  at  a  fountain  in  the  interior^  after  the 
residents  at  the  place  make  their  appearance  at  the 
waggons,  one  of  my  men  usually  put  the  question,  "  Is 
your  country  *monate/  or  nice — Le.y  free  from  lions?" 
Or  again,  "  Do  you  sleep  in  this  country,  or  have  you  the 
boy  with  the  beard,  '  mosimane  eo  litem,'  to  trouble  you  V* 
The  reply  would  be,  "  Naga  hela,  'ra ;  lo  ka  robala," — "  The 
country  is  all  right ;  you  can  sleep."  Or,  on  the  contrary, 
it  would  be  to  the  effect  that  the  country  was  a  "  savage  " 
one,  and  that  those  who  herded  cattle  in  it  must  be  men 
and  not  boys.  It  is  considered  very  unlucky  to  refer  to 
the  lion  by  name,  especially  after  nightfall.  ^  Speak  of 
*  tao '  (the  lion)  and  he  will  appear,"  is  the  African  version 
of  a  remark  sometimes  made  in  English  concerning  one 
who  is  said  in  Scripture  to  go  about  '^  like  a  roaring  lion, 
seeking  whom  he  may  devour."  I  have  sometimes  men- 
tioned the  name  by  mistake ;  the  reply  was  always  given 
in  a  whisper.  Of  late  years  the  servants  of  hunters,  and 
others  who  have  taken  up  with  the  ways  of  white  men, 
seem  to  have  pleasure  in  shocking  the  more  susceptible 
nerves  of  their  fellow-countrymen,  by  talking  lightly  of  the 
lion  at  the  evening  fire,  and  freely  mentioning  him  by  his 
own  name.^ 

1  The  ancient  Swedes  had  a  somewhat  similar  superstition.  They  wonld 
not  give  its  own  name  to  anything  that  was  of  an  ominous  nature,  lest  an 
impmdent  tongue  should  give  offence.  They  therefore  employed  an  in- 
offensive circumlocution ;  as,  when  they  meant  to  say,  It  thunders,  they 
used  the  phrase,  "God-gubben  aaker," — i.e.  "Thor  drives  his  chariot." 
The  same  sort  of  superstition  prevails  in  some  of  the  Western  Islands,  parti- 
cularly among  the  inhabitants  of  Lewis,  when  on  their  fishing  excursions. 
It  is  absolutely  unlawful  to  call  the  island  of  St.  Eilda  by  its  proper  Irish 
name  Hirt,  but  only  the  "  high  country."  In  some  districts  in  Scotland, 
a  brewer  would  have  resented  the  use  of  the  word  "  water,"  in  relation  to 
the^  work  in  which  he  was  engaged.  "  Water  be  your  part  of  it,"  was  the 
common  retort.  It  was  supposed  that  the  use  of  this  word  would  spoil  the 
brewing. 


152         NORTH  OF  THB  ORANGE  RIVEE. 

We  found  here  a  newly-made  and  commodious  cattle- 
pen,  which  had  been  constructed  by  a  party  of  hunters 
from  the  Transvaal  country,  who  had  left  only  a  few 
days  before  our  arrivaL  The  head  of  this  party  was 
one  of  those  who  had  signed  the  letter  to  Mr.  Moffat, 
forbidding  him  to  enter  the  interior  without  the  consent 
of  their  government.  But  had  I  met  him  I  should  not 
have  experienced  any  molestation  whatever.  What  such 
a  person  does  officially,  and  often  at  the  instigation  of 
others,  is  no  clue  to  the  course  he  will  take  as  a  private 
person  at  his  own  house,  or  on  occasion  of  accidental 
meeting  in  the  open  country.  These  Dutch  hunters 
afterwards  proceeded  some  distance  to  the  south-east  of 
Maila.  They  found  elephants  in  considerable  numbers; 
and  their  camp  was  now  within  a  short  distance  of  that  of 
my  former  companions  on  this  journey,  Messrs.  Reader, 
Burgess,  and  Lamond.  The  foUowing  account  of  the 
disastrous  conclusion  of  the  expedition  of  the  English 
hunters,  I  give  from  a  statement  kindly  placed  in  my 
hands  by  Mr.  Seader. 

On  the  evening  of  the  2  2d  of  August,  aft^r  having 
been  two  days  hunting  elephants,  Messrs.  Reader,  Burgess, 
and  Lamond,  returned  wearied  and  hungry  to  their  wag- 
gons. As  they  were  about  to  dine,  Mr.  Piet  Jacobs, 
a  well-known  Dutch  hunter,  arrived  at  their  camp,  with 
the  object  of  buying  a  horse.  His  own  encampment 
was  about  eight  miles  distant.  He  was  invited  to  stay 
there  that  night,  and  joined  the  party  at  dinner.  The  con- 
versation turned  on  hunting  elephants,  which  for  many 
years  had  been  Jacobs'  occupation.  Reader,  who  was  also 
an  ^  old  hand,''  had  killed  two  out  of  their  first  troop ; 
Burgess,  who  was  a  novice,  had  bagged  one  unaided,  and  a 
rhinoceros,  on  his  way  back  to  the  waggons ;  while  Lamond 
had  finished  his  elephant  with  Reader's  assistance.  The 
fire  round  which  the  party  sat  smoking  and  talking  was 


BUSHldAN  LAND.  153 

not  twenty  yards  from  the  three  waggons,  which  were 
drawn  up  alongside  each  other,  and  about  ten  or  twelve 
feet  apart.  The  servants  had  another  fire  about  fifteen 
yards  from  the  waggons.  With  the  exception  of  one 
man,  who  had  gone  to  the  fountain  for  water,  they  were 
now  all  asleep  round  this  fire.  Seven  horses  were  tied 
to  the  sides  of  the  waggons,  eating  grass  which  had 
been  cut  for  them;  and  three  were  fastened  to  a  bush 
about  fifteen  yards  off.  The  troop  of  oxen  lay  about  three 
hundred  yards  from  the  waggons.  Piet  Jacobs,  declining 
the  offer  to  share  one  of  the  waggons  with  its  owner,  was 
provided  with  a  large  tiger-skin  "  kaross,"  and  stretched 
himself  by  the  fire,  the  hunting  stories  still  going  on.  At 
length  Burgess  rose,  and  filling  his  pipe  with  some  dry  and 
dusty  tobacco,  lit  it  at  the  fire,  and  retired  to  his  waggon. 
The  fire  had  now  nearly  burned  out;  and  as  Reader  sat  close 
to  it-  with  his  back  towards  the  waggons,  he  could  without 
rising  lay  his  hand  on  both  Jacobs  and  Lamond,  the  latter 
of  whom  had  his  face  towards  the  waggons.  Burgess  had 
not  been  gone  ten  minutes  when  Eeader  says  he  heard  an 
explosion  and  s^w  a  great  light.  In  an  instant  all  the 
three  at  the  fire  were  driven  from  their  places,  and  stupi- 
fied  with  the  shock.  When  they  came  to  themselves,  they 
found  they  were  huddled  together — each  unwittingly 
grasping  the  other  with  all  his  might,  and  afraid  to  stir. 

"  What  is  that  % "  at  length  asked  Reader. 

"  Burgess  is  gone,"  said  Lamond.  *'  I  saw  his  waggon 
go  up."  Filled  with  terror,  the  three  now  retreated  about 
a  hundred  yards  from  the  waggons.  Reader  called  out 
Burgess's  name  until  all  hope  died  within  his  heart.  They 
were  now  joined  by  the  servant  who  had  been  at  the  water. 
He  said  he  had  heard  a  great  noise,  and  inquired  what 
lights  those  were  among  the  branches  of  the  trees  1  These 
were  shreds  of  personal  clothing,  and  of  goods  for  bartering 
with  the  Makololo,  which  had  been  fired  by  the  powder, 


154  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

and  caught  in  the  tree.  The  grass  which  had  been  cut  for 
the  horses  was  also  on  fire,  and  the  man  was  now  directed 
to  go  and  extinguish  it,  ^  lest,"  added  his  master,  ^  it  should 
ignite  the  waggons." 

"  Baas,**  shouted  the  Hottentot,  as  soon  as  he  got  to  the 
place,  "  there  is  no  waggon  here ;  they  are  all  gone." 

Beader  and  the  other  two  now  returned  to  where  the 
waggons  had  stood,  and  after  surveying  the  place  by  the 
light  of  the  burning  grass  found  the  man  was  right.  They 
could  see  nothing  remaining  of  the  three  waggons.  What 
had  become  of  the  servants  1  They  called  them  one  by 
one.  At  length  they  answered  from  a  considerable  distance 
in  the  bush ;  and  after  receiving  many  assurances  ventured 
to  make  their  appearance.  They  said  they  had  fled  under 
the  confosed  impression  that  the  camp  was  attacked  by 
enemies,  and  that  the  noise  of  the  combustion  was  the 
report  of  a  volley  of  musketry.  As  seven  or  eight  loaded 
guns  were  in  and  around  the  waggons,  all  of  which  were 
blown  away,  there  might  possibly  have  been  separate  re- 
ports from  them.  The  report  of  a  gun  was  distinctly  heard 
by  Eeader  as  if  at  some  distance  from  the  waggon.  One  of 
the  men  was  hopelessly  mutilated,  and  died  after  some  days* 
sufferings.  Other  two  were  severely  scorched.  All  being 
now  equally  destitute,  a  servant  tore  up  his  shirt,  and  tied 
up  the  mutilated  leg  of  his  comrade  as  well  as  he  could  in 
the  dark.  The  party  then  lay  down  till  morning,  in  order 
that  daylight  might  Mly  clear  up  the  horrors  of  their 
situation.  In  the  morning  a  dreadful  scene  presented  itsdf 
to  them.  Of  the  three  waggons  two  front  wheek  alone 
remained  with  their  axle-tree.  The  remains  of  the  seven 
horses  tied  to  the  waggons  strewed  the  whole  place,  the 
head  of  one  being  found  two  hundred  yards  from  the  camp. 
The  head  and  fore-quarter  of  another  had  been  dashed 
against  a  tree  near  the  fire,  and  must  have  passed  dose 
to  where  Lamond  sat  the  previous  night.     The  tiiree 


BUSHMAN  LAND.  156 

horses  tied  to  the  bush  were  not  killed^  but  all  were 
scorched.  The  oxen  yirere  uninjured^  except  one,  a  horn 
of  which  was  snapped  clean  off.  It  was  wonderful  that  the 
rest  were  not  wounded,  as  bits  of  iron  were  found  all  over 
the  place,  twisted  into  a  variety  of  shapes.  The  lead  which 
lay  at  the  bottom  of  the  waggons  was  driven  deep  into  the 
sand,  where  each  waggon  had  stood,  some  of  the  bars 
being  found  partly  fused ;  the  cinders  and  ashes  of  bits  of 
the  waggon  being  found  along  with  the  lead.  All  who 
were  able  now  searched  for  the  remains  of  poor  Burgess, 
but  not  much  was  found.  This  was  carefully  interred  by 
his  companions ;  and  when  the  driver  died  he  was  buried 
beside  the  remains  of  his  master.  For  days  the  natives 
came  to  gaze  awe-struck  upon  the  work  of  gunpowder. 

Being  disappointed  in  obtaining  a  waggon  for  hire  as  far 
as  Shoshong  from  the  Dutchmen,  of  whom  there  was  a  large 
party,  Keader  constructed,  with  raw  hide  and  undressed 
pieces  of  wood,  the  firame-work  of  a  rude  cart^  which  he 
placed  on  the  two  remaining  wheels.  Upon  this  primitive 
conveyance  they  placed  the  two  wounded  men,  who  were 
occasionally  joined  by  the  others  as  they  felt  tired  with 
walking,  the  vehicle  not  being  large  enough  to  allow  all  to 
ride  in  it  at  once.  Arrived  at  Shoshong,  they  at  once 
obtained  ike  assistance  which  they  required,  and  returned 
to  the  colony.  Thus  suddenly  was  this  adventurous  young 
man  and  promising  hunter  called  into  eternity.  A  spark  of 
fire  from  a  tobacco-pipe,  carelessly  placed,  had  no  doubt 
found  its  way  to  the  gunpowder,  of  which  there  was  a  con- 
siderable quantity  in  the  waggons,  and  the  result  was  a 
scene  such  as  is  seldom  witnessed  except  at  a  siege  or  on 
the  battle-field,  where  greater  horrors,  premeditated  and 
expected,  meet  the  eye  at  every  turn. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

BUSHMAN    GUIDANCE. 

The  Makalaka  at  Maila  were  refugees  from  the  cmel 
and  bloody  tyranny  of  Moselekatse,  or  rather  of  the 
Matebele  soldiers;  for  the  latter  were  in  the  habit  of 
undertaking  raids  unknown  to  their  chief  against  the 
neighbouring  Mashona  and  Makalaka  Tillages,  for  the 
purposes  of  plunder  and  outrage.  It  was  their  custom, 
in  such  an  expedition,  to  lie  in  wait  near  the  village 
until  the  earliest  dawn  gave  light  enough  for  their  bloody 
work.  Then  rushing  like  furies  upon  the  unsuspecting 
inhabitants,  they  speared  every  one  except  young  women, 
and  children  who  were  able  to  walk.  From  such  scenes 
of  wholesale  carnage  had  fled  the  Makalaka  whom  I  now 
met.  They  themselves  had  been  brought  up  isx  the  here- 
ditaiy  pursuit  of  tilling  the  soil ;  but  their  com  had  been 
left  behind  in  their  flight,  and  they  had  not  yet  had  time 
to  cultivate  gardens  at  Maila.  They  were  therefore,  as  we 
have  seen,  dependent  upon  the  trapping  of  game,  the 
"  leavings  "  of  the  lion,  the  kindness  of  the  Bushmen,  and 
the  occasional  visit  of  a  European  elephant-hunter,  who 
would  shoot  down  a  quantity  of  game  for  them  to  dry,  and 
lay  up  in  store.  But  their  chief  Putse,  with  all  his  hunger, 
was  capable  of  perpetrating  a  joke.  When  I  asked  guides 
of  him  to  go  with  me  as  far  as  the  Zambese,  he  replied  in 
a  tone  of  affected  surprise,  "Why  do  you  ask  me  for  guides 


BUSHMAN  GUIDANCE.  157 

in  your  own  country  1  Did  not  J —  V —  and  tlie  Boers 
who  were  here  a  few  days  ago  tell  me  that  all  this  land 
belonged  to  the  white  men,  and  that  they  would  shortly 
come  and  occupy  it  1  Why,  then,  do  you  ask  for  guides 
in  what  seems  to  be  your  own  country  V*  I  replied  that 
the  Queen  of  England  had  no  desire  to  seize  their  terri- 
tory ;  and  that  if  Englishmen  came  into  their  country  it 
would  be  for  two  objects — ^to  teach  them  about  God, 
which  was  my  own  purpose,  or  to  hunt  and  to  trade  with 
them  for  ivory  and  feathers.  I  told  them  that  if  peace 
continued,  waggons  filled  with  the  beautiful  things  of  the 
white  people  would  visit  their  country ;  and  that  he  who 
was  industrious  would  be  able  to  purchase  some  of  them 
with  ivory,  feathers,  and  skins,  and  even  with  the  produce 
of  their  gardens.  This  assurance,  which  has  been  abun- 
dantly verified  in  succeeding  years,  gave  great  satisfaction ; 
and  Putse  declared  the  news  was  good,  if  only  the  Mate- 
bele  would  let  him  "  sleep." 

Although  the  Dutch  hunters  had  opened  up  the  water, 
and  we  ourselves  had  also  worked  at  it  for  hours,  we 
found  that  unless  we  prevented  the  game  from  drinking  in 
the  nighty  we  should  not  have  enough  for  our  oxen.  Even 
while  it  was  still  daylight,  on  Saturday  evening,  we 
observed  the  thirsty  zebras  gradually  approaching,  that 
they  might  quench  their  thirst  as  soon  as  the  sun  went 
down.  We  lighted  a  fire  at  the  water,  but  found  that  to 
be  of  no  use.  A  rhinoceros  and  a  troop  of  buffaloes 
dashed  right  down  to  the  water.  One  of  the  latter  paid 
for  his  temerity  with  his  life.  On  Sunday  evening,  as  I 
did  not  wish  the  men  to  lose  another  night's  rest,  we  not 
only  lighted  a  fire,  but  constructed  something  like  the 
figure  of  a  man  in  a  prominent  position.  Some  prophesied 
that  our  effigy  would  at  once  be  destroyed  by  an  angry 
buffalo,  or  a  black  rhinoceros ;  but  no  attention  was  paid 


168  NORTH  OF  THB  ORANGE  RIVER. 

either  to  it  or  to  the  fire  hj  creatures  goaded  on  by  thirst. 
There  was  no  alternative,  therefore,  bat  again  to  insist 
upon  oar  exclasive  right  to  the  water  by  the  argament  of 
the  gon.  As  soon  as  their  determination  to  drink  led 
them  too  near,  the  men  gaarding  the  water  fired  at  them, 
and  caused  th^n  to  withdraw.  Although  many  mate 
most  have  been  killed,  only  one  zebra  was  found  dead  at 
the  fountain,  which,  with  part  of  the  buffido,  I  made  over 
to  Putse  and  his  people ;  directing  him,  at  the  same  time, 
to  take  up  the  blood-tracks  of  the  wounded*  We  had  thus 
the  consolation  of  thinking  that  while  driven  by  necessity 
to  fire  upon  the  game  in  the  dark,  such  as  might  die  of 
their  wounds  would  be  very  welcome  to  the  famishing 
Makalaka.  During  the  night  there  was  quite  a  procession 
round  the  fountain, — a  vast  gathering  of  wild  creatures  in 
separate  troops,  galloping,  stamping,  snorting,  and  neig^ 
ing;  drawn  to  the  fountain  by  thirsty  and  kept  from 
drinking  by  fear. 

After  hearing  that  we  were  jonmeying  to  Linyaiiti, 
Putse  brought  to  our  camp  an  old  Bushman,  who  had 
just  returned  from  the  district  of  the  Mababe.  Putse  said 
it  was  his  custom  to  tell  strangers  as  much  as  he  knew 
concerning  the  country  towards  which  they  might  be 
journeying;  and  for  this  puipose  he  had  1[>rought  the 
Bushman.  ^Perhaps  what  he  tells  is  lies,  perhaps  it  is 
truth;  I  shall  have  discharged  my  duty  when  you  hear 
his  story."  The  Bushman  now  commenced  his  account^ 
which  was  to  the  effect  that  ^  the  Makololo  at  Linyaiiti 
had  killed  the  head-man  of  the  missionaiy  party  and  his 
wife,  with  a  head-man  of  the  Batlaping  who  accompanied 
the  white  men ;  that  several  little  children  haddied ;  that 
the  surviving  white  man  and  his  wife  had  left  Idnyanti, 
and  were  now  no  doubt  far  on  their  way  southward. 
Sekeletu,  the  chief,  had  poisoned  an  ox,  and  then  pie- 


BUSHMAN  GUIDANCE.  159 

sented  it  to  the  missionaries  for  slaughter.  He  had  also 
administered  to  them  poison  in  the  native  beer.  The 
strangers  had  eaten  of  the  ox  and  drunk  of  the  beer,  and 
died.  Having  killed  the  owners,  Sekeletu  had  next 
seized  upon  their  property.  He  had  kept  the  best  waggon 
belonging  to  the  deceased  teacher,  and  all  the  'boxes' 
with  white  men's  things  in  them.  This  is  the  news  £rom 
Mababe,"  concluded  the  Bushman.  The  whole  storj 
seemed  to  me  entirely  improbable.  In  my  confidence  I 
smiled  at  my  informant,  and  told  him  it  was  impossible 
that  Sekeletu  could  have  poisoned  the  friends  of  Living- 
stone, who  were  there  by  appointment  with  the  Doctor. 
I  was  aware  that  poisoning  in  beer  was  not  uncommon  in 
tiie  country ;  but  then  how  could  they  be  poisoned  by  an 
ox  which  had  been  driven  to  their  waggons  alive  and  well, 
and  which  they  themselves  had  slaughtered  and  cooked ) 
Those  only  who  believed  in  the  power  of  "  charms  "  could 
credit  this.  Mebalwe  expressed  a  similar  opinion  to  my 
own,  and  so  did  the  rest  of  the  men,  who  were  present  and 
heard  the  news.  The  story  was  so  mixed  up  with  heathen 
customs  and  ideas  as  to  render  the  catastrophe  impossible 
in  our  eyes  as  a  matter  of  fact.  In  itself  the  picture  which 
the  Bushman  gave  was  certainly  a  very  dreadful  one.  It 
was  a  sufficiently  uninviting  prospect  to  be  told  that  at 
Linyanti  we  should  find,  not  our  friends  the  missionaries, 
but  their  graves ;  while  in  the  Makololo  chief  and  people 
we  should  meet  their  murderers.  But  not  one  of  us  re- 
ceived the  story  as  truth;  and  in  a  few  days  we  had  almost 
foigotten  it.  I  felt  it  necessary  to  place  all  the  ''  mahuku" 
or  news  on  such  subjects  before  the  grown-up  men  of  my 
party,  lest  to  serious  difficulties  in  the  future  there  should 
be  added  their  upbraidings  that  they  had  been  led  forward 
blindfold. 
It  was  here  also  I  heard  of  the  extreme  sufferings  which 


1 60  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

my  friends,  upon  whose  track  I  was  proceeding,  had 
endured  in  the  country  north  of  Maila  and  Eamakama. 
When  I  asked  for  guides  to  go  with  me  in  that  direction, 
not  a  single  Bushman  would  consent  to  accompany  me. 
To  go  without  guides  I  felt  to  be  quite  out  of  the  question. 
Pointing  northwards,  they  shook  theirs  heads,  and  ex- 
claimed, "  Yonder  there  is  no  water ;  nothing  but  sun ; 
nothing  but  sun!     That  land  causes  the  cattle  to  stray 
firom  the  waggons;   the  men,  too,  who  venture  thither 
wander  about  in  vain  search  for  what  is  not,  and  hast^i 
southward  to  the  fountains  which  they  had  left.     All  these 
things,"  they  added,  "  did  we  see  last  year  in  the  case  of 
the  white  men  who  went  to  the  Makololo.     Both  they  and 
their  oxen,  and  we  who  accompanied  them  part  of  the 
way,  had  well-nigh  perished  with  thirst.     If  you  are  deter- 
mined to  travel  on  that  path  you  go  alone."     I  was  aware 
from  Dr.  Livingstone's  description   of  the   country  still 
before  me,  that  to  the  north  there  was  no  spring  or  foun- 
tain, till  we   came  to   the   Mababe  or  the  Sonta;  and 
therefore  travellers  could  only  proceed  on  it  in  summer 
after  rain  had  fallen.     Instead  of  giving  the  detail  of  the 
sufferings  of  my  friends,  with  which  the  Bushmen  now 
supplied  me,  it  will  be  more  satisfactory  to  quote  firom 
the  last  letter  received  from  Mrs.  Helmore,  which  was 
addressed  to  one  of  her  daughters,  then   at   school   in 
England : — 

"  NOBTH  OF  RaMAKAMA, 

Nov.  24M,  1859. 

"  My  darling  Ouve, — It  is  now  your  turn  to  get  a 
letter  from  me  3  but  I  fear  that  it  will  be  a  long  long  time 
before  you  receive  it,  for  there  are  few  opportunities  of 
sending  or  receiving  letters.  We  have  had  none  from  you 
since  the  May  ones  which  overtook  us  at  the  Matlwaiing, 
just  beyond  Kuruman.  .  .  .  However,  we  must  be  patient. 


BUSHMAN  GfUIDANCE.  161 

and  the  letters  will  perhaps  be  doubly  sweet  when  the3r  do 
come.  Although  I  long  to  hear  of  you,  I  do  not  feel 
anxious  about  you,  my.  dear  girls.  We  daUy  commit  you 
to  the  care  of  your  Heavenly  Father,  and  He  never  dis- 
appointed those  who  trust  in  Him.  I  hope  that  you,  dear 
Olive,  are  setting  the  Lord  always  before  you.  As  the 
eldest  of  the  family,  you  will  have  a  strong  influence  over 
the  rest.  0  seek  especially  to  guide  your  sisters,  dear 
Annie  and  Emily,  in  the  way  of  life.  I  look  forward  with 
delist  to  the  time  when  we  shall  be  all  united  again ;  but 
still  I  think  it  is  your  duty  to  remain  in  England  as  long 
as  you  can.     You  may  never  go  there  again. 

**  You  see  we  have  not  yet  got  to  our  journey's  end.  It 
is  a  long  journey  indeed;  but  we  have  had  so  many 
hindrances  from  waggons  breaking,  cattle  wanderings 
&tigue,  drought,  an&  other  causes.  We  have  been  already 
twenty  weeks  on  the  road,  and  shall  be  three  or  four 
weeks  yet.  Six  weeks  ago,  on  the  river  Zouga,  dear  little 
Willie  was  taken  ill  with  fever,  and  for  several  days  we 
scarcely  thought  he  would  recover ;  fever  was  very  high, 
with  delirium.  He  is  now  getting  well  again,  and  to-day 
is  playing  on  the  bed  with  Selina  and  Henry  for  the  first 
time.  He  is,  however,  still  so  weak  in  his  legs  that  he 
lias  to  be  carried  about  like  an  infant.  A  fortnight  after 
Willie  had  been  taken  ill,  dear  Lizzie  was  seized  with 
fever  and  erysipelas  in  the  back,  but  she  too  is  getting 
weU  now ;  so  you  see,  dearest  Olive,  you  have  much  to  be 
thankful  for,  as  well  as  to  pray  for.  Selina  and  Henry 
are  well,  and  all  send  their  love  to  you  alL  I  need  not 
tell  you  much  about  our  journey,  as  you  have  papa's 
journal.  ...  We  meet  with  some  beautiful  flowers.  I 
often  wish  it  were  possible  to  transport  them  to  you.*  Few 
of  them  have  much  scent  alone ;  but  about  sunset  their 
united  fragrance  is  delicious. 

L 


162  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

"  Monday^  Nov,  28. — Yesterday  dear  little  Eliza  Price 
was  baptized  by  your  papa.  We  had  a  pleasant  English 
service.  It  was  quite  a  treat  in  the  wilderness.  The 
Bechuanas  were  present  as  spectators,  and  seemed  inter- 
ested. Papa  has  service  in  Sechuana  regularly  eveiy 
Sunday.  .  .  .  Our  cattle,  at  least  some  of  them,  have  been 
lost  ever  since  last  Monday.  Four  men  were  seeking  them 
three  days  and  nights,  and  returned  with  some  of  them — 
without  having  tasted  food  all  that  time.  They  lost  their 
way,  which  it  is  very  easy  to  do,  as  the  country  is  covered 
with  forests  and  thick  bush.  Now  another  party  is  out 
after  the  rest  of  them.  This  is  their  third  day.  We  have 
had  no  road  for  many  weeks.  Some  of  the  party  have  to 
go  before,  sawing  down  trees,  and  chopping  bushes  to  make 
room  for  the  waggons  to  pass,  and  after  all  we  frequently 
become  entangled;  so  it  is  very  slow  work.  There  are 
no  wild  beasts  here  except  elephants,  and  occasionally 
troops  of  zebras.  The  latter  we  sometimes  manage  to 
shoot.     They  are  excellent  eating ;  so  is  the  gnu. 

^ Dec,  26. — ^A  happy  Christmas  to  you,  my  children! 
It  is  now  nearly  a  month  since  I  laid  down  my  letter  to 
you,  dear  Olive ;  yet,  strange  to  say,  we  aie  only^w  mUes 
nearer  to  our  journey's  end  than  we  were  then.  I  told 
you  that  a  party  of  our  men  had  gone  out  in  search  ijf 
some  of  our  oxen,  which  had  been  stolen  by  the  Masanra^ 
or  Bushmen.  They  returned  on  the  fourth  day  with 
all  but  three ;  one  had  been  left  sick  on  the  road ;  the 
other  fine  lai*ge  hind  oxen  the  Masarwa  had  killed  and 
eaten.  It  was  a  great  loss,  but  there  was  no  redress  for  it^ 
and  as  our  pool  of  water  was  almost  dried  up,  we  w^re 
glad  to  go  forward.  As  we  proceeded  we .  found  the 
country  more  and  more  dry,  and  at  last  we  were  bitmght 
to  a  complete  stand-still  for  want  of  water.  One  waggon 
was  unpacked  and  sent  back  with  all  the  casks,  Mack- 


BUSHMAN  GUIDANCE.  163 

intosh  bags,  and  vessels  we  could  find,  to  bring  water.    All 
the  oxen  and  sheep  and  all  the  men,  excepting  two,  were 
sent  back  likewise,  and  what  little  water  still  remained  was 
divided  amongst  ns  who  stayed.     This  was  only  enough  for 
drinking,  there  was  none  to  cook  with,  and  before  the 
waggon  arrived,  which  was  two  days  and  nights,  we  were 
so  weak  from  want  of  food  that  the  children  and  I  could 
scarcely    walk.     The    weather    was  at  the    same    time 
extremely  hot,  the  thermometer  at  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning  stood  at  96°,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  day  at 
more  than  106°.     Papa  and  the  two  men  who  remained 
went  out  in  the  evenings  in  search  of  water,  and  walked 
abont  all  night,  but  they  could  find  none.     I  forgot  to  say 
that  Tabe  stayed  with  one  of  his  men,  and  they  too 
searched  for  water ;  for  we  were  unwiUing  to  go  back  if 
there  was  a  possibility  of  getting  on.     However,  all  the 
pools  were  empty,  so  we  were  most  reluctantly  obliged 
to  retrace  our  steps.    But  by  this  time  the  ponds  we 
had  left  were  dried  up  too ;  so  after  travelling  a  day  and 
night,  and  until  nine  the  next  morning,  the  poor  cattle  were 
so  exhausted  with  thirst  that  they  could  go  no  farther, 
and  we  were  compelled  to  unyoke  them  and  send  them  on 
with  the  sheep,  and  most  of  the  men,  to  the  nearest  water. 
We  hoped  that  they  would  return  that  night  and  take  us 
on ;   but  day  after  day  and  night  after  night  passed  and 
neither  men  nor  oxen   came,   and   our   sufierings  were 
again  veiy  great.     I  was  most  anxious  about  Lizzie,  who 
was  still  weak  from  her  recent  illness.     I  thought  she 
would  have  fitinted  when  I  had  not  a  drop  of  water  to 
give  her, 

*^  One  afternoon  about  four  o'clock  papa  set  out  with 
two  men,  taking  our  Mackintosh  bags,  and  returned  about 
half-past  nine  next  morning  with  a  supply  of  water. 
When  they  arrived  they  were   so   exhausted  that  they 


164  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

dropped  on  the  ground  unable  to  speak.  Papa  looked  so 
ill  that  I  was  quite  alarmed.  They  had  walked  thirtj- 
eight  miles,  and  carried  the  water  fifteen  miles.  Having 
found  water,  parties  were  sent  in  succession  each  night  to 
return  the  following  one.  Fancy  every  drop  of  water  we 
had  for  drinking,  cooking,  or  washing  ourselves  brought  a 
distance  of  thirty  miles  going  and  coming !  ^  At  length,  on 
Sunday,  December  the  1 1th,  we  were  aroused  very  early 
by  a  heavy  rain.  We  spread  out  a  sail  and  caught  enough 
to  replenish  our  water-ves&els.  This  was  indeed  a  shower 
from  Heaven ;  it  revived  our  languid  spirits,  and  filled  us 
with  thankfulness  to  Him  who  had  remembered  His  pro- 
mise to  His  servants  (Isaiah  xli.  17).  We  now  hoped  to 
go  on,  but  the  clouds  passed  away,  and  the  pools  remained 
empty. 

^  When  the  oxen  returned  we  rode  back  fifteen  miles  to 
the  pool  from  which  we  had  been  obtaining  water.  It 
appeared  that  on  leaving  us  with  the  oxen  and  sheep  the 
men  had  set  off  for  Elamakama,  but  losing  their  way  did 
not  get  there  tiU  the  following  night ;  and  our  two  little 
calves,  unable  to  walk  so  far  in  such  hot  weather,  were 
left  behind  to  perish ;  and  also  our  entire  flock  of  twenty- 
four  sheep  and  lambs  were  lost  through  the  carelessness 
and  indolence  of  the  man  who  was  driving  them,  and 
have  not  been  heard  of  since.  This  is  a  very  heavy  loss 
indeed. 

''  I  must  now  say  a  few  words  about  your  coming  oat> 
for  there  are  so  few  opportunities  of  sending  letters  to 
you  now  that  I  do  not  like  to  delay  writing  on  that 
subject.  .  .  .  Lizzie  says  I  am  to  tell  you  to  bring  some 
comfits,  little  baskets,  etc,  that  we  may  have  a  CSiristmas- 
tree  the  first  Christmas  you  are  all  at  home.  Your  sisters 
and  brothers  send  warmest  love ;  so  does  papa.     The  God 

^  This  lasted  for  about  a  fortnight. 


BUSHMAN  GUIDANCE.  165 

of  Love  be  your  Friend  and  Portion,  my  dear  child  I— Your 
affectionate  mamma,  Anne  Helmore." 

How  true  and  deep  the  love  of  the  Christian  mother  h 
Herself  in  circumstances  of  extreme  privation,  abstaining 
from  food  and  drink  for  days  for  the  sake  of  her  children, 
knowing  what  it  is  to  have  only  a  single  spoonful  of  water 
for  each  child  left  before  relief  came  :  in  such  circum- 
stances she  did  not  fail  to  think  of  the  distant  loved  ones 
in  her  native  land,  who  were  happily  ignorant  of  their 
mother^s  distress.  Amid  the  harassing  anxieties  of  sudi  a 
journey  she  snatched  time  to  write  to  them ;  and  again 
the  hope  of  re-union  was  expressed.  It  was  Christmas- 
time when  she  wrote,  although  the  glare  and  heat  of 
the  African  sun  had  Uttle  in  common  with  English  asso- 
ciations. But  her  faithful  and  enduring  heart  was  strong 
enough,  not  only  to  send  a  cheerful  greeting,  but  to  enjoy 
the  prattle  of  the  children  sitting  around  her  about  a  future 
Christmas,  when  their  happy  family  was  to  be  assembled 
in  a  mission-house  north  of  the  Zambese.  She  had 
courage  to  send  the  little  sister's  message  about  a  Christ- 
mas-tree, which  was  to  be  decorated  by  a  united  family 
among  the  Makololo. 

Into  this  land  of  drought  I  felt  it  would  be  madness  to 
attempt  to  enter  before  rain  fell.  What  then  was  to  be 
done  1  The  Makalaka  offered  to  show  me  a  route  to  the 
east,  by  which  I  should  reach  the  Zambese  near  to  the 
Victoria  Falls  in  ten  days.  Asking  them  to  point  out  the 
direction  of  the  first  fountain  on  this  road,  I  found  they 
pointed  south-east  from  Maila — ^which  was  of  course  going 
back  in  our  journey ;  for  our  course  now  was  north-west, 
or  nearly  so.  They  informed  me,  however,  that  the  second 
fountain  was  to  the  north  of  the  first,  and  that  the  road 
afterwards  steadily  pursued  that  course.     I  called  my  men. 


166  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

and  laid  the  matter  before  them.     "  One  does  not  mind  a 
round-about  road,"  said  old  Mebalwe,  ^  provided  we  have 
water  on  it"     This  being  the  general  opinion,  as  well  as 
my  own,  I  hired  a  party  of  Makalaka,  who  agreed  to  go 
with  me  to  the  Zambese  by  this  eastern  route.    Having 
settled  this,  preparations  for  starting  were  going  forward, 
when  Mokantse,  the  chief  of  the  Bushmen,  made  his 
appearance  with  a  party  of  men  from  his  village,  which 
was  at  a  few  miles*  distance.     He  had  come  to  greet  me, 
he  said,  before  I  left.     One  of  his  men,  who  had  acted  as 
my  guide  to  Maila,  had  hinted  to  me  the  previous  evening 
that  he  knew  another  road  to  the  west  of  that  pursued  by 
my  friends  of  the  previous  year.     He  assured  me  there 
was  plenty  of  water  on  it ;  and  it  led  to  the  Makololo 
country.     As    the  part   of  the   Zambese  to  whidi  the 
Makalaka  offered  to  guide  me  was  considerably  to  the  east 
of  Linjranti,  I  resolved  to  sift  this  matter  as  far  as  I  conld, 
while  it  was  still  in  my  power  to  make  a  choice.     So  I 
assembled  both  Bushmen  and  Makalaka,  and  explained  to 
them  fully  my  position.     I  was  a  nussionaiy  on  my  way 
to  teach  the  Makololo.     I  was  going  to  join  the  party  of 
last  year.     I  had  got  food  and  clothing  for  them  in  the 
waggons ;  and  my  request  now  was  to  be  shown  the  best 
route  by  which  I  could  join  them.     The  two  chiefs  and 
their  men  had  a  long  discussion  together.     I  could  not  but 
feel  that  this  was  a  critical  time  in  my  journey.     In  a 
similar  dilemma,  a  Bushman  would  have  sought  assistance 
from  the  Unseen  by  divination  and  charms.     While  my 
native  advisers  were  conversing  together  in  a  language 
which  neither  I  nor  my  men  could  understand,  I  retired 
in  my  uncertainty  unto  Him  whose  eyes  are  in  aU  places, 
and  earnestly  besought  His  guidance  and  blessing  at  this 
juncture.     The  sequel  will  show  whether  or  not  the  pray^ 
was  answered. 


BUSHMAN  GUIDANCE.  167 

Mokantse  aonounced  the  decision  to  which  they  had 
now  come.  It  was  that  we  ought  to  give  up  the  road  to 
the  east,  and  take  the  route  to  the  north-west,  which  his 
man  had  mentioned  to  me.  The  Makalaka  agreed  that 
"  that  also  was  a  road,  and  that  it  would  take  us  to  the 
Makololo."  My  men  were  abeady  assembled ;  so  I  told 
them  that  whatever  road  we  took  we  must  enter  on  it 
heartily,  and  not  find  fault  with  one  another  when  we  got 
into  difficulties.  Now  was  the  time  to  speak.  I  then 
made  Mokantse  mention  the  number  of  waters  which  were 
on  the  route  he  proposed.  He  counted  five,  and  ended 
with  the  "  Great  River."  I  asked,  was  it  the  river  of  the 
Makololo  1  He  replied  in  the  affirmative.  All  my  men 
joined  in  saying  that  this  route  of  the  Bushmen  ought  to 
be  the  best.  Mokantse  told  off  two  men  as  guides,  and 
this  perplexing  question  was  finally  settled. 

We  left  Maila  on  Monday  the  20th  August,  and  after  pro- 
ceeding for  some  hours  on  the  track  of  last  year's  waggons, 
bore  more  to  the  west,  on  a  footpath  almost  invisible  to 
the  inexperienced  eye,  and  were  now  practically  under  the 
leadership  of  the  two  Bushmen.  Walking  in  front  with 
them,  I  found  towards  evening  that  we  were  going  almost 
due  west,  and  in  a  little  after  that  we  were  turning 
slightly  to  the  south.  I  remarked  that  this  was  not  the 
direction  of  the  Makololo.  Seeing  that  I  had  referred  to 
a  compass,  the  Bushmen  said,  "  Why  does  not  the  *  selo ' 
(or  thing)  of  which  you  *  inquire  '  inform  you  of  the  direc- 
tion of  the  next  pool  of  water  as  well  as  tell  you  where 
Linyanti  isl  It  is  quite  true  that  the  Makololo  live  in  the 
direction  you  indicate,  but  we  are  also  sure  that  the  next 
pool  of  water  is  in  the  course  we  are  now  taking." 

On  Wednesday  forenoon  we  were  toiling  through  very 
deep  sand,  under  a  burning  sun.  The  pace  of  the  oxen 
was  becoming  veiy  slow,  and  the  drivers  seemed  to  be 


168         NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

content  if  they  moved  at  alL  Proceeding  to  the  front  in 
order  to  question  the  guides  about  the  water,  I  found  to 
my  astonishment  that  they  were  not  visible.  "  Where  are 
the  Bushmen  V*  I  asked  Mebalwe,  whose  waggon  was  first 
that  day.  He  in  turn  asked  the  leader,  who  was  wearily 
marching  at  the  head  of  the  team.  "(Ja  ki  itse'* — ^**I  don  t 
know" — shouted  the  man  without  turning  round  his  head. 
"  Then  in  what  direction  are  you  taking  usf '  I  asked  in 
amazement.  ^  When  I  last  saw  the  Bushmen  they  seemed 
to  be  going  in  the  direction  in  which  I  am  now  guiding 
the  waggons."  So  here  we  were  without  path,  not  even 
a  game-track  to  guide  us,  and  our  Bushmen  vanished !  It 
seemed  useless  to  be  dragging  four  heavily-loaded  waggons 
through  the  sand  without  road  and  without  guide.  So  we  J 
gave  the  oxen  the  benefit  of  our  perplexity,  and  unyoked  j 
them  while  we  considered  what  was  to  be  done.  While  j 
the  men  were  drinking  a  cup  of  coffee,  it  struck  me  that 
whatever  might  have  been  the  cause  of  the  Bushmen's  ] 
desertion,  the  prospect  of  plenty  of  fresh  meat  at  the  wag- 
gons would  certainly  bring  them  back,^if  they  were  still 
near  enough  to  hear  the  report  of  a  gun.  Accordingly  I 
fired  off  my  gun,  and  waiting  a  few  minutes,  as  if  fol- 
lowing a  wounded  animal,  fired  again,  and  then  watched 
the  result  of  my  experiment  Some,  time  after,  the  ipen, 
who  were  now  keeping  a  look-out,  discovered  one  of  the 
Bushmen  making  for  the  waggons  at  the  top  of  his  speed. 
Nothing  was  said  until  he  had  taken  his  place  among  the 
men,  when  he  was  asked  why  he  had  "  thrown  us  away " 
in  the  desert  1  He  said  ^'he  was  killed  by  the  sun,  u., 
thirsty,  and  had  merely  gone  on  to  drink."  It  no  doubt 
seemed  to  him  an  easy  thing  to  find  out  the  little  well  still 
a  considerable  distance  ahead,  and  which,  being  inaccessible 
to  game,  had  therefore  no  ^  spoors  "  leading  to  it ;  but  it 
was  a  very  different  matter  to  strangers*     I  gave  him  some 


BUSHMAN  GUIDANCE.  169 

meat,  so  tliat  his  hurried  return  was  not  entirely  in  vain 
from  his  own  point  of  view.  In  truth  he  was  a  welcome 
sight  to  us  alL  Again  proceeding  under  his  guidance  we 
reached  the  water  in  the  evening.  Our  second  guide  took 
guilt  to  himself,  and  never  again  made  his  appearance  at 
our  waggon.  After  reaching  the  well  I  went  with  Mebalwe 
in  the  dusk  of  the  evening  to  the  place  where  he  was  said 
to  be  hiding,  to  assure  him  that  my  heart  was  quite  ^' white" 
towards  him.  We  heard  his  retreating  steps  in  the  bush, 
and  called  after  him,  but  in  vain.  I  next  sent  his  com- 
rade, with  plenty  of  meat  and  tobacco,  to  induce  him  to 
join  OS  again,  but  he  refused.  He  said  he  knew  he  had 
done  wrong  in  throwing  away  the  waggons  in  the  wUder- 
ness,  and  he  believed  the  white  man  wotdd  punish  him 
with  the  rhinoceros-hide  whip.  Where  or  when  he  had 
seen  this  implement  in  operation  I  know  not,  but  it  had 
evidently  made  a  deep  impression  on  his  mind.  He  pre- 
ferred rather  to  be  without  pay  than  to  run  the  imaginary 
risk  of  the  "  sambok." 

We  found  that  there  was  barely  enough  of  water  for 
ourselves  in  the  deep  well  to  which  our  guides  led  us.  It 
was  at  the  side  of  a  large  salt-pan,  now  grown  over  with 
grass.  The  water  was  only  slightly  brackish.  It  was  still 
about  half  a  day's  journey  to  the  large  fountain  of  which 
the  Bushmen  had  spokei|.  As  we  had  then  beautiful 
moonlight,  I  sent  the  whole  troop  of  oxen  forward  that 
evening  in  charge  of  a  party  of  men,  and  under  the  guidance 
of  the  Bushman.  They  were  to  allow  the  cattle  to  drink 
that  night,  and  then  giving  them  time  to  graze,  lead  them 
to  the  water  a  second  time  at  noon  the  following  day. 
Next  morning,  looking  across  the  vast  plain  at  the  side  of 
which  my  waggon  stood,  I  saw  what  I  thought  at  first  was 
game,  but  on  using  a  glass  found  to  be  my  own  oxen.  They 
had  not  yet  reached  the  water;  their  guide  having  got 


170  KORTH  OF  THE  ORAKGE  RIVER. 

bewildered  in  the  night,  had  led  them  away  to  the  left,  so 
that  now  they  were  fiEirther  from  the  water  than  when  they 
left  the  waggons  the  night  before.  This  is  the  only  in- 
stance of  a  Bushman  wandering  from  his  coarse  which  bs 
come  under  my  own  observation.  He  was  not  entirely  to 
be  excused;  for  although  the  plain  was  without  a  single 
object  to  guide  him,  there  were  numerous  brilliant  stars  in 
the  heavens  by  which  he  could  have  steered. 

I  had  previously  observed  a  certain  ox  in  the  troop  as 
always  heading  the  march  to  the  water  at  noon  when  they 
were  going  to  drink.  He  was  of  European  breed,  beuig 
stronger  and  heavier  than  the  Bechuana  cattle.  As  the 
troop  now  passed  along  the  plain  towards  the  water,  this  ox, 
seeing  the  waggons  in  the  distance,  rushed  away  from  the 
herd,  and,  refusing  to  be  stopped  by  the  men,  came  up  to  got 
camp  in  the  rage  and  desperation  of  thirst.  I  sent  a  man 
to  bale  water  for  him  out  of  the  well;  but  the  smaO 
quantity  brought  at  a  time  seemed  to  tantalize  the  animal, 
which  at  length  became  exhausted  and  lay  down  on  the 
plain.  All  our  effortsfailed  to  restore  him,  or  to  cause  him 
to  proceed  with  the  rest  of  the  cattle  after  their  retain. 
The  poor  animal  was  "  killed  by  the  sun,*'  t.«.,  by  thirst, 
and  was  the  only  one  which  I  lost  from  that  cause.  I  have 
since  often  observed  that  cattle  bred  by  Bechuanas  can 
stand  thirst  better  than  all  others  which  come  into  the 
country.  This  is  accounted  for  by  the  manner  in  whidi 
they  are  reared  by  their  owners  at  their  cattle-posts.  While 
colonial  farmers  make  sure  that  water  shall  at  all  times  be 
within  reach  of  their  herds,  so  that  they  can  drink  whfiH 
they  choose,  the  Bechuanas  teach  their  cattle  to  endure  a 
certain  amount  of  privation  as  to  water.  In  winter,  no 
Bechuana  herdsman  of  the  old  school  would  think  of  tak- 
ing his  charge  to  the  water  every  day.  In  the  coldest 
weather,  it  is  often  the  second,  occasionally  the  third,  day 


BUSHMAN  GXJIDANCR  171 

before  the  water  is  visited ;  and  even  then  the  cattle  drink 
but  sparingly.  Goats  in  the  Kalahari  are  months  without 
water,  and  thrire  without  it.  The  Bechuanas  had  a  reason 
for  thus  training  their  cattle ;  for  when  assailed  by  tribes 
more  powerfid  than  themselves,  it  was  their  custom  fear- 
lessly to  drive  their  flocks  and  herds  for  days  into  the 
Kalahari  desert,  into  which  their  enemies  followed  them 
at  their  periL 

My  men,  who  had  gone  forward  with  the  oxen,  re- 
tamed  with  poor  accounts  of  the  ^'  great  water  "  spoken  of 
by  the  Bushmen;  the  oxen  had  drained  it  completely, 
without  having  quenched  their  thirst.  As  it  was  a  spring, 
however,  the  men  hoped  that  it  wotdd  soon  refill  its  basin. 
We  reached  this  fountain  on  Friday  evening,  and  on  Satur- 
day all  hands  were  at  work  the  whole  day  clearing  out  the 
mud  and  stones  which  had  accumulated  round  the  spring, 
and  considerably  impeded  its  flow.  A  large  pen  was  made, 
so  that  the  cattle  might  be  kept  together  while  the  water 
was  collecting.  We  found  it  of  no  use  to  send  them  to 
graze  in  charge  of  herds.  Instead  of  eating,  or  even  lying 
down,  the  oxen  kept  wandering  about  first  in  one  direction 
and  then  in  another,  always  with  the  object  of  passmg  their 
herds  and  getting  to  the  fountain  where  we  were  working. 
One  animal,  which  was  sufiering  the  agonies  of  thirst,  shut- 
ting its  eyes,  broke  through  the  pen  and  rushed  past  the 
men  who  tried  to  stop  it,  upon  whom  it  would  have  blindly 
trodden  had  they  not  given  way.  We  had  just  time  to 
^  dear  out "  from  die  spring  when  the  poor  creature  rushed 
over  the  ledge  of  rock  above  the  fountain,  falling  a  dis- 
tance of  at  least  twelve  feet,  and  lighting  upon  the  rocks 
and  stones  out  of  which  the  water  sprang.  No  sooner  had 
it  reached  the  ground  than,  now  unable  to  rise  or  to  move  its 
body,  it  turned  round  its  head  to  one  of  the  "  eyes  "  of  the 
foontain,  and  there  drank  for  a  long  time  the  deliciously 


1 72  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER, 

cool  water.  We  all  believed  the  animal  would  die  from 
the  fall ;  and  we  had  to  lift  it  oat  of  the  water  when  it  had 
finished  its  long  draught.  In  the  course  of  some  days, 
however,  it  recovered,  and  was  for  many  years  afterwards  a 
front  ox  in  my  team.  In  opening  up  this  water  we  came 
upon  pieces  of  elephants'  tusks  and  antelopes*  honis,  mixed 
up  with  the  stones  and  mud  which  had  been  closely  em- 
bedded by  the  feet  of  the  game.  The  overhanging  ledge 
of  rock  had  no  doubt  broken  off  these  horns  and  tusks,  as 
their  owners,  forgetting  its  proximity,  tossed  up  their  heads 
suddenly  after  finishing  their  draught  of  water. 

On  Sunday  morning,  26th  August,  I  found  that  if  we 
stayed  here  together,  the  oxen  must  endure  great  hard* 
ship  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of  the  water.  Althoo^ 
it  flowed  with  increasing  rapidity  after  our  labouis,  it 
was  still  far  from  sufficient  The  first  question  thus  came 
to  be,  not  to  find  the  nearest  way  to  the  Makololo,  but  to 
reach  a  water  which  would  suffice  for  all  the  oxen.  The 
Bushmen  living  near  this  fountain,  pointing  to  the  west, 
said  that  after  sleeping  once  on  the  way  I  should  on  the 
following  day  reach  the  great  river  of  which  I  had  heard. 
For  the  first  time  on  my  long  journey  I  now  found  it 
necessary  to  go  forward  on  Sunday.  Taking  one  waggon 
and  some  sixteen  oxen,  I  gave  them  as  much  water  as 
they  could  drink,  and  then  proceeded  to  open  up  a  road 
to  the  river.  Being  now  suspicious  as  to  the  tsetse,  and 
not  knowing  what  to  make  of  the  conduct  of  Mokantse 
and  his  men  in  misleading  us  as  to  the  number  of  fountains 
on  the  road,  and  also  as  to  its  course,  I  thought  it  would 
be  best  to  go  forward  myself  with  one  waggon.  I  could 
not  trust  any  of  the  men  to  lead  the  way  where  there  was 
no  waggon  road,  but  I  could  depend  upon  them  to  take 
care  of  the  cattle  at  the  fountain.  I  directed  the  Hotr 
tentots,  if  they  did  not  hear  from  me  to  the  contnuy,  to 


BUSHMAN  GUIDANCE.  1 T3 

start  on  Tuesday,  and  follow  my  track.  Mebalwe  was 
to  bring  up  the  rear  with  the  other  waggon,  and  the 
weakest  of  the  oxen  on  Wednesday.  When  I  left  on 
Sunday  forenoon,  some  of  my  oxen  then  received  the  first 
good  drink  of  water  which  they  had  had  since  the  fore- 
tsoon  of  the  previous  Monday  at  Maila!  By  reducing 
tbe  number  of  oxen  in  one  place,  those  which  remained 
beliind  found  enough  water  in  the  fountain,  and  a  serious 
cBraster  was  averted.  I  now  travelled  under  the  guidance 
of  Tiane,  the  chief  of  a  small  town  of  Bushmen,  which  we 
pttBsed  soon  after  leaving  the  water.  On  Sunday  night 
tbere  fell  the  fijrst  shower  of  rain  which  we  had  seen  since 
letmng  Euruman.  Our  journey  was  at  first  through  an 
open  country,  but  on  Monday  morning  we  came  to  a  dense 
fareet,  through  which  we  had  literally  to  cut  our  way 
with  the  axe.  The  oxen  were  also  sorely  tried  with  a 
small  thorn  bush,  which  tore  their  legs  and  the  lower  part 
of  their  body,  and  impeded  our  progress.  After  a  hard 
dsKj^a  work  to  all  concerned,  we  were  pleased  in  the  after- 
noon to  descend  into  a  belt  of  larger  timber,  growing  more 
q^anely  and  on  firmer  soiL  The  Bushman  now  assured 
me.that  I  was  near  to  the  great  river,  and  that  my  cattle 
woold  know  no  more  thirst.  We  were  some  distance  in 
front  of  the  waggons,  my  office  of  hewer  of  trees  having 
beeome  a  sinecure,  when  Tiane  led  me  to  a  point  from 
lAich  I  gazed  on  the  loveliest  prospect  I  had  yet  beheld  in 
Africa.  A  broad  river  flowed  at  my  feet,  both  of  whose 
biiikiB  were  richly  wooded  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach. 
Ua  bank  opposite  was  lower  than  where  I  stood,  and  I 
lad  thus  an  extensive  view  of  the  country  on  the  other 
fliie,  studded  with  large  trees,  in  the  shade  of  which  I 
Ubeld  the  gnu  and  the  zebra,  the  red-buck,  the  spring- 
Uttdc,  and  an  animal  which  I  had  not  seen  before,  the 
iejobwe  or  water-buck.  Having  pulled  the  waggon  be- 
Headi  a  magnificent  camel-thorn,  whose  spreading  branches 


1 74  XOKTH  OF  THE  OBAKGB  BTTEB. 

enabled  118  to  hiiYeddicioiis  shade  at  an  houn  of  the  day,  we 
nnjoked  the  oxen,  wfaidi  made  at  once  for  the  rirer.  Hiey 
were  not  content  with  reaching  the  water,  bat  walked  np 
to  the  belly  in  the  river,  and  then  drank  their  SSL  We 
had  all  accompanied  them  to  the  bank,  and  enjoyed  the 
deli^tfbl  spectacle ;  and  of  aU  African  scenes  beheld  before 
or  since,  no  one  is  more  deeply  engrava!!  on  my  mind. 
The  only  disappointment  was  that  I  was  not  gazing  upon 
the  ''Great  Kiver  of  the  Makololo**  spoken  ot  at  Miila, 
bat  apon  the  Zoaga  or  BoUetle. 

After  a  few  minutes'  absence,  Tiane  announced  that  a 
boat  had  jost  arrived  at  the  nei^boaring  halting-place, 
which  was  caUed  More  oa  Maota,  and  that  the  Batowana 
who  were  in  it  were  on  their  way  to  see  me.  According 
some  five  or  six  men  advanced  from  the  river,  and  sitting 
down  after  the  asaal  salutations,  gave  me  their  newa 
They  were  spies,  and  had  been  southward  to  observe  Um 
movem^its  of  the  Bamangwato,  it  being  feared  that  in  the 
war  between  Macheng  and  Sekhome  something  might 
transpire  which  it  wotdd  be  of  importance  for  Lechulatebe, 
the  chief  at  Lake  Ngami,  to  know.  They  had  now  fulfilled 
their  mission,  and  were  on  their  way  home,  having  still  a 
journey  of  four  or  five  days  before  them.  They  said  the 
place  where  I  had  touched  the  river  was  at  its  great  bend 
southwards,  and  was  its  nearest  point  from  Maila.  I  now 
gave  them  my  news — a  plain,  straightforward  statement  of 
the  past  events  in  my  journey,  and  my  destination. 

''  Have  you  not  heard,"  said  the  head-man,  ''  that  the 
party  of  teachers  who  went  in  last  year  to  the  Makobb  SR 
all  dead  except  one  man  and  two  little  children  1 " 

I  replied  that  I  had  heard  some  idle  story  of  that  kind  at 
Maila,  but  that  I  did  not  believe  it. 

"But  we  left  the  surviving  teacher  at  Lechulatebe's 
town,"  exclaimed  the  man.  **  His  oxen  were  all  bitten  by 
the  tsetse,  and  he  could  go  no  farther.     We  saw  him  with 


BUSHMAN  GUIDANCE.  1 79 

oar  own  eyes,  and  we  are  sure  that  jon  also  will  be  killed 
bj  the  Makololo  if  jou  go  there.  Yon  had  better  cross 
the  river,  and  visit  Lechulatebe,  who  will  be  glad  to  see 
you,  and  you  will  see  that  what  we  now  tell  you  about  your 
Mends  is  true." 

A  new  suspicion  now  crossed  my  mind.  Taking  it  for 
granted  tiiat  this  story  was  not  true,  I  thought  I  could 
perceive  an  object  for  telling  it,  namely,  to  get  me  to  visit 
Lechulatebe.  My  four  waggons  were  supposed  to  contain 
immense  wealth ;  Sekeletu,  the  enemy  of  Lechulatebe,  had 
abeady  received  two  missionaries ;  it  was  therefore  desired 
by  the  Batowana  that  a  share  of  this  distinction  should  be 
conferred  upon  Lechulatebe,  and  that  he  also  should  have 
his  resident  white  man  or  missionary.  I  therefore  con- 
ceived that  these  men  were  skilfully  acting  a  part,  and  that 
all  they  told  me  was  mentioned  for  the  purpose  of  fright- 
ening me  from  going  on  to  the  Makololo,  and  of  inducing 
me  to  visit  their  own  chief.  I  therefore  firmly  expressed  my 
intention  of  going  on  to  Linyanti,  and  that  nowl  had  reached 
the  river  system,  I  hoped  speedily  to  complete  the  journey. 

"  What  message,  then,  shall  we  take  to  our  chief) "  said 
the  men,  at  the  conclusion  of  our  second  interview,  in 
which  they  had  in  vain  sought  to  persuade  me  to  cross  the 
river,  and  give  up  the  journey  to  the  Makololo. 

"Greet  your  chief  very  much,"  I  replied,  "and  say  that 
I  am  now  going  to  Linyanti,  but  that  I  hope  soon  to  visit 
him  as  a  missionary.  White  men  are  accustomed  to  boats 
in  their  own  country,  and  I  hope  soon  to  be  able  to  visit 
your  master  in  one  after  I  have  seen  my  friends,  and 
handed  over  to  them  their  food  and  their  clothing." 

They  seemed  at  a  loss  to  understand  my  determined  and 
sincere  unbelief  in  their  story,  and  left  me,  declaring  I  was 
pre-eminently  "  tlogo  e  e  thata,"  hard-headed  or  difficult  to 
convince. 

"  But  mark  our  words,"  said  they,  as  they  left  for  their 


176  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  BIVER. 

boat ;  ^  as  soon  as  we  get  home,  and  tell  yonr  friend  that 
yon  are  here,  the  teacher  is  sure  to  come  to  yon  or  to  write 
to  yoOy  and  then  you  will  see  that  we  have  spoken  truth'* 

**  You  will  require  to  make  haste,**  was  my  answer,  "for 
in  a  few  days  I  shall  have  left  the  Zouga  and  gone  north- 
wards along  the  Tamalakan." 

I  noticed  two  points  of  difference  betweea  the  account  of 
these  Batowana  and  that  of  the  Bushmen  at  Maila.  The 
Bushmen  said  the  wife  of  the  surviving^  teacher  was  with 
him,  and  he  anticipated  no  detention  frt)m  tsetse.  The 
Batowana  said  Mrs.  Price  had  died  on  the  way  after  leaving 
the  Makololo,  and  that  the  missionary's  cattle  had  hem 
bitten  by  the  deadly  fly.  This  looked  like  truth,  supposing 
the  Bushman  to  have  visited  the  missionary  party  before 
the  occurrence  of  these  later  disasters,  which  were  men- 
tioned by  the  Batowana.  This  account,  with  its  apparent 
discrepancy,  caused  me  some  uneasiness ;  but  the  promi- 
nence given  by  all  to  poisoning  by  charms,  and  the  weU- 
known  desire  of  Lechulatebe  to  deter  Europeans  from 
visiting  his  enemies,  outweighed  all  such  impressions,  and 
I  still  felt  fully  convinced  that  the  whole  tale  was  without 
foundation^ 

My  waggons  arrived  at  the  river  in  the  order  I  had 
laid  down  for  them ;  and  I  had  the  happiness,  before  the 
week  was  done,  of  seeing  my  party  again  united.  Mebatwe 
explained  that  after  I  left  they  had  scarcely  enou^  water, 
but  when  the  other  two  waggons  followed  me  he  had  then 
plenty  for  the  remainder  of  the  troop.  I  resolved  to  give 
the  cattle  a  few  days'  rest  here,  while  I  endeavoured  to 
obtain  information  about  the  country  before  me,  and 
especially  with  reference  to  the  whereabouts  of  the  tsetse. 
I  was  out  one  day  with  the  Bushmen  hunting,  when  thej 
pointed  to  a  wooded  height  at  some  distance  from  the  river 
as  its  nearest  habitat     They  said  that  with  good  guides  I 


BUSHMAN  GUIDANCE.  1 7T 

coold  go  along  the  Tamalakan  without  getting  my  oxen 
bitten.  While  shooting  guinea-fowl  one  day  along  the 
banks  of  the  river,  one  of  the  barrels  of  my  fowling-piece 
burst,  and  damaged  the  first  joint  of  one  of  my  fingers. 
The  piece  of  barrel  flew  into  the  air  with  a  loud  "  whirr." 
I  went  mechanically  to  the  place  where  I  had  seen  the 
guinea-fowl,  feeling  that  something  was  wrong,  but  not 
knowing  what  it  was.  Of  course,  the  charge  went  the 
wrong  way  to  kill  the  bird  when  it  went  through  the  side 
of  the  barrel  The  pain  in  my  finger  soon  brought  me  to 
my  senses ;  and  the  ugly  hole  in  the  breech  of  the  gun 
left  me  in  no  doubt.  I  had  been  trying  hard  to  assist  in 
supplying  my  own  wants  and  those  of  the  party  by  killing 
game,  and  feeling  that  this  was  not  the  kind  of  thing  to 
establish  confidence  and  respect,  either  in  me  or  my  guns, 
I  laid  the  damaged  gun  out  of  sight,  in  the  waggon,  and 
did  not  mention  to  my  men  the  cause  of  my  bound-up 
hand.  Such  people  believe  in  "lucky"  and  "unlucky" 
masters,  and  I  did  not  wish  them  to  think  that  they  were 
in  the  employment  of  one  who  was  sure  to  meet  with 
disasters. 

The  Batowana  residing  at  Nghabi  or  Ngami  exercise 
supremacy  over  the  Makobas,  who  live  on  the  banks  of  the 
rivers,  as  well  as  over  the  Bushmen  and  certain  other  tribes 
in  the  desert.  I  found  that  the  district  of  More  oa  Maotu 
belonged  to  a  grandee  called  Lerebola,  who  played  me  a 
trick  which  is  often  practised  on  travellers  in  Africa.  At 
my  request  he  provided  me  with  guides.  When  I  came 
to  pay  beforehand,  always  an  unsafe  proceeding,  he  offered 
to  send  them  with  me  as  far  as  Maiketo's,  where  he  affirmed 
I  should  find  the  track  of  waggons  which  had  gone  to  the 
Makololo.  But  for  this  he  demanded  a  whole  list  of  articles, 
— gunpowder,  lead,  flints,  caps,  beads,  a  knife,  and  a  handker- 
chief.    Believing  his  plausible  story,  I  satisfied  him  as  to  the 

H 


1 78  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

pay,  and  we  proceeded  on  our  journey.    At  Mpash's  village, 
however,  I  was  assured  that  the  men  who  had  come  with  me 
were  not  Lerebola's  at  all,  but  belonged  to  Mpash,  and  I 
must  pay  again  if  I  wanted  guides.     Now  this  seems  great 
extortion  to  the  European.     He  is  indignant  at  being  de- 
ceived by  a  savage.     According  to  some  travellers,  there 
never  were  such  unreasonable  mortals  as  the  African  chiefe 
through  whose  country  they  have  passed.     But  that  is  only 
one  view  of  the  question.     We  may  think  that  the  chiefs 
ought  to  have  a  fixed  charge,  or  no  chai*ge  at  all ;  and  that 
our  progress  should  be  facilitated  by  every  means  in  the  power 
of  those  for  whose  ultimate  benefit  we  think  we  are  travel- 
ling.    But  the  opinions  of  the  chief  are  entirely  different. 
He  does  not  indeed  know  the  words,  so  often  used  in 
England,  about  '*  making  hay  while  the  sun  shines,^  but 
the  idea  is  very  vividly  present  to  his  mind.     It  is  not 
every  year  the  locusts  come,  so  when  they  appear  every- 
body makes  the  most  of  them.     And  so  the  coming  of  an 
Englishman  into  his  country,  with  several  waggons  heavily 
loaded,  is  an  event  to  be  taken  advantage  of  by  a  chief  to 
the  fullest  extent.     In  remote  districts,  the  whole  country- 
side is  roused  by  such  an  appearance  on  its  horizon,  from 
the  man  of  distinction,  who  hob-nobs  with  the  Englishman 
over  a  cup  of  coffee,  to  the  Bushman,  who  hopes  to  come 
in  for  a  piece  of  meat,  or  a  few  bones,  or  a  bit  of  raw  hide 
(which  he  will  roast  and  eat),  or  even  a  pinch  of  snuff,  ae 
his  share  in  the  great  event  of  your  passing  through  the 
country.     While  the  chief  or  head-man  takes  you  in  hand, 
and  gets  what  he  can  as  a  "  present,"  or  for  guides,  his  men 
are  busy  with  your  servants,  doing  the  same  thing  on  a 
smaller  scale.     You  may  labour  to  explain  that  your  journey 
is  for  the  future  benefit  of  both  chief  and  people.     He  does 
not  contradict  you,  but  seems  to  make  up  his  mind  that 
whatever  be  the  contingencies  of  the  future,  your  present 


BUSHMAN  GUIDANCE.  lY9 

journey  shall  be  made  subservient  to  his  immediate  ad- 
vantage. This  is  only  in  a  rude  form  what  is  so  often  met 
with  in  civilized  countries,  and  among  all  classes  of  society, 
— to  get  as  much  as  you  can,  for  as  long  a  time  as  you  can, 
and  for  as  little  as  you  can,  without  touch  regard  to  truth 
or  honesty.  This  is  only  what  the  African  chief  does,  and 
while  you  are  at  first  disgusted  at  the  imposition,  in  the 
end  you  pay  and  pass  on. 

After  resting  more  than  a  week  at  More  oa  Maotu,  we 
left  on  Thursday  the  6th  September,  proceeding  up  the 
river  towards  its  junction  with  the  Tamalakan.  On  Friday 
we  passed  Mpash's  village,  where  we  had  to  hire  fresh 
guides.  We  observed  that  in  telling  us  the  story  of  the 
calamities  at  Linyanti,  a  tone  of  remonstrance  and  warning 
was  now  used  by  the  Batowana.  Great  prominence  was 
always  given  to  the  necessity  of  our  visiting  Lechulatebe. 
Sometimes  a  clumsy  narrator,  under  a  little  cross-ques- 
tioning, contradicted  himself,  which  confirmed  us  in  the 
belief  that  the  story  was  concocted,  and  told  by  some  with 
greater  ability  than  by  others.  After  a  man's  statement 
had  been  pulled  to  pieces,  and  his  warnings  had  fallen 
unheeded,  he  would  lose  all  patience,  and  exclaim,  "  If  you 
can't  believe  what  is  told  you,  go  on  to  Linyanti  and  see 
for  yourself." 

On  Saturday,  while  we  were  moving  slowly  along  the 
bank  of  the  2k>uga,  and  approaching  Letsebogo  ya  Khame, 
I  noticed  a  party  of  men  advancing  from  the  river,  which 
was  here,  owing  to  a  bend,  at  some  distance  from  the  course 
of  our  waggons.  The  strangers,  without  parleying  with 
any  one,  went  up  to  the  leader  of  the  first  waggon  and  told 
him  to  halt.  Now,  I  thought,  the  plot  thickens,  and  the 
Batowana  are  making  a  desperate  effort  to  accomplish  their 
purpose.  By  calmness  and  firmness  to-day  all  further 
trouble   may   perhaps  be  averted.     I  went  forward  and 


1 80  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

demanded  why  he  had  stopped  my  waggons  in  such  an 
unceremonious  manner  ? 

"  I  come  from  Lechulatebe,  the  chief,"  replied  the  leader 
of  the  party,  a  taU  handsome  man,  drawing  himself  up  to 
his  full  height.  *'  He  greets  you,  and  sends  you  boats^  by 
means  of  which  you  are  to  cross  the  river." 

"  But  who  tells  your  master  that  I  am  to  cross  the  river 
at  alH"  I  inquired,  now  fully  satisfied  in  my  own  mind 
that  our  surmises  of  fraud  were  about  to  be  confirmed.  "  I 
am  going  to  the  Makololo  at  present,  and  may  not  turn 
aside.  Give  my  greetings  to  your  chief,  and  thanks  for 
his  invitation.  As  we  are  to  be  neighbours,  I  hope  soon 
to  see  him  and  his  people." 

The  countenance  of  the  man  assumed  a  bewildered 
expression,  and  turning  to  his  companions  I  heard  him 
inquire,  "  What  can  we  make  of  this  man  ?  What  shall  I 
say  to  make  him  believe  ]" 

"  Tell  him  about  the  white  man  in  the  boat,"  suggested 
one  of  his  men. 

"  You  refuse  to  believe  what  everybody  tells  you.  In 
that  boat,"  pointing  to  the  river,  "  there  sits  a  white  man 
who  says  you  are  his  dear  friend — ^the  son  of  his  father." 

"And  why  did  you  not  bring  him  with  you  that  I 
might  see  him,  if  it  is  true  that  he  is  in  your  boat !" 

"  Because  he  is  sick  and  tired,  and  wished  to  remain." 

Still  incredulous,  and  determined  to  stick  to  my  course, 
I  brought  the  conversation  to  a  close  by  saying,  "  I  shaD 
go  on,  as  I  intended,  to  the  Letsebogo  (ford),  where  we 
shall  sleep,  and  where  we  shall  rest  to-morrow  (Sunday). 
If  you  have  got  a  white  man  in  your  boat,  bring  him  to 
me  there,  and  I  shall  believe  what  you  say." 

Not  knowing  what  turn  events  might  take  next,  and 
conceiving  that  I  had  been  perhaps  somewhat  abrupt  with 
the  men  as  the  messengers  of  their  chief,  I  now  gave  diezn 


BUSHMAN  GUIDANCE.  181 

a  handsome  present,  to  show  that  my  heart  was  white  to- 
wards them,  although  I  was  still  going  on  to  the  Makololo. 
Highly  pleased,  they  returned  to  the  river ;  and  we  pur- 
sued our  course  to  the  place  where  I  had  resolved  to 
spend  the  Sunday.  Left  to  ourselves,  we  all  felt  that  the 
crisis  had  now  come.  The  stories  told  so  persistently  for 
the  last  three  weeks  would  be  tested  this  evening,  and 
it  would  be  decided  whether  we  were  being  deceived, 
as  we  had  imagined,  or  whether  we  were  to  be  called, 
upon  to  mourn  over  disaster  and  death.  The  interval 
was  spent  in  canvassing  the  whole  subject  afresh — ^the 
idea  now  for  the  first  time  being  present  that  it  might 
possibly  be  true*  Towards  evening  I  seated  myself 
in  the  front  waggon  to  obtain  the  earliest  solution  of  this 
mystery.  The  guides  said  we  were  now  approaching 
the  river  again,  and  that  the  halting-place  was  close  at 
hand.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe  my  anxiety  as  I 
gazed  forward  through  the  forest,  seeking  in  vain  for  the 
solution  of  my  doubts  in  its  solemn  stillness.  I  was 
roused  by  the  exclamation  of  the  driver,  who  sat  beside 
me  on  the  waggon,  "  Ki  ena," — ^  It  is  he."  I  sprang  from 
the  waggon,  and  went  forward  to  meet  some  one  who,  I 
could  see  through  the  trees,  was  a  European.  At  length 
I  saw  that  it  was  my  dear  friend  and  brother-missionary, 
Mr.  Price. 

**But  can  all  this  that  I  hear  be  true]"  I  hurriedly 
aaked,  before  I  had  grasped  his  hand. 

Alas !  I  saw  what  the  answer  would  be  before  I  heard 
it :  «  All  is  true." 

I  had  then  to  go  back  and  break  the  news  to  Mrs. 
Mackenzie,  that  her  beloved  friends  Mrs.  Helmore  and 
Mrs.  Price  were  no  more;  and  that  in  short  the  story 
which  we  had  so  often  heard  and  disbelieved  was  moum- 
fuUy  true.     This  was  indeed  a  trying  hour.     Hopes  which 


182  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

had  cheered  as  daring  our  long  journey  were  now  dashed 
to  the  ground.     As  the  brilliance  of  the  setting  sun  was 
now  giving  place  around   us  to  the  darkness  of  nighty 
so  the  bright  pictures  which  had  often  filled  our  minds 
with  pleasure  now  also  gave  place  to  one  gloomy  scene  of 
desolation  and  of  death.     We  sat  down  and  wept  for 
those  who  were  not.     Our  men  betokened  their  sympathy 
by  the  solenmity  of  their  countenances ;  and  the  simple 
Makoba  stood  at  some  distance,  silent  witnesses  of  the  scene. 
We  shrank  for  some  time  from  inquiring  into  the  details 
of  the  disasters  through  which  our  friend  had  passed.    We 
observed  with  pain  that  not  only  was  Mr.  Price  reduced 
to  be  the  shadow  of  what  he  was  when  in  health,  but 
his  memory  was  also  for  the  time  somewhat  affected ;  and 
he  repeated  the  same  things  several  times,  without  being 
aware  of  it     We  sought  first  an  explanation  of  the  means 
by  which  he  had  heard  of  our  arrival.     Mr.  Price  said  that 
the  messengers  of  Lechulatebe  who  had  seen  us  at  More 
oa  Maotu  on  their  way  up  the  river  from  the  Bamangwato 
country,  arrived  at  the  courtyard  one  day  while  he  was 
present.      He  heard  without  interest  the  recital  of  their 
procedure  as  spies,  and  an  account  of  the  political  con- 
dition of  the  Bamangwato.     But  by  and  by  his  attention 
was  riveted  when  he  heard   the  men   state   that  they 
had  arrived  at  More  oa  Maotu  at  the  same  time  as  ''a 
teacher"  from  Kuruman,  who  was  on  his  way  to  the  Mako- 
lolo.     He  was  a  red  man,  and  had  a  span  of  red  oxen. 
He  had  a  wife  and  child,  and  one  waggon,  but  others 
filled  with  things  were   coming  after   him.     Mr.  Price, 
starting  up,  interrupted  the  man,  and  explained  to  Lechu- 
latebe that  this  teacher  was  his  friend ;  and  that  he  must 
find  some  way  of  visiting  him.     Lechulatebe  very  kindly 
placed  his  own  canoe  at  the  service  of  Mr.  Price,  who, 
hearing  from  the  men  that  we  did  not  credit  the  story  of 


BUSHMAN  GUIDANCK  183 

the  disasters  at  Linyanti,  but  were  intending,  as  soon  as 
we  cotdd,  to  pass  on  to  the  Makololo,  embarked  as  soon  as 
the  canoe  was  ready.  He  had  the  idea  that  he  was 
beginning  his  voyage  on  Sunday ;  but  in  the  long  iUnesses 
which  he  had  endured,  and  surrounded  so  long  by  men 
who  themselves  had  all  been  an  indefinite  number  of  days 
stricken  down  by  fever,  he  had  lost  reckoning  of  the  days 
of  the  week,  so  that  what  he  regarded  as  Sunday  was  in 
reality  Wednesday.  Mr.  Helmore's  two  surviving  little 
children  were  so  pleased  that  assistance  was  near  to  them 
that  they  joyfully  consented  to  remain  during  Mr.  Price's 
absence  in  charge  of  the  servants,  and  under  the  special 
care  of  Lechulatebe's  head-wife,  who  was  very  kind  to  them. 

Viewed  in  the  light  of  our  recently  acquired  knowledge 
of  the  true  condition  of  our  fellow-members  of  the  Mako- 
lolo  mission,  our  past  journey  now  assumed  a  consecutive- 
ness  and  a  oneness  of  purpose  beyond  anything  which  we 
had  intended.  We  started  from  Ruruman  to  join  the 
Makololo  mission,  of  which  we  were  members,  carrying 
with  us  necessary  supplies  for  our  friends.  Now,  it  is  a 
fiEtct  that  when  I  did  join  the  only  surviving  member  of 
the  mission,  and  when  I  supplied  him  with  the  assistance 
which  was  indispensable  to  his  leaving  the  lake,  not  a  day 
had  been  lost  between  Kuruman  and  Lake  Ngami.  When 
the  boatmen  announced  to  Mr.  Price  our  arrival  on  the 
Zouga,  it  was  in  reality,  as  such  things  go  in  Africa,  an 
*'  express"  to  him  from  Ruruman.  But  this  was  not  my  in- 
tention, because  I  did  not  believe  that  Mr.  Price  was  there 
at  alL  I  thought  of  him  and  of  Mr.  Helmore  as  in  the 
Makololo  country ;  and  when  I  left  Maila  I  was  under  the 
impression  that  I  was  travelling  on  a  new  and  direct  route 
to  that  country. 

Then  the  Bushmen  of  Mokantse  at  Maila  undoubtedly 
misled  me,  both  as  to  the  route  and  as  to  the  number  of 


184  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

waters  which  we  should  find.  Had  they  acknowledged  that 
the  ''great  river"  of  which  they  spoke  was  the  Zonga,  and  not 
the  Sonta  or  the  Mababe,  I  certainly  should  not  have  taken 
the  route  proposed  by  them  at  alL  They  deceived  me,  but  for 
what  purpose]  The  only  way  I  can  account  for  their  conduct 
is,  that  they  determined,  in  what  they  regarded  as  mercy  to 
me,  to  take  me  into  the  country  where  they  knew  I  must 
infallibly  either  hear  of  my  Mends  as  having  already  passed 
south,  or  meet  with  them  on  their  way  out  from  LinyantL 
They  therefore  schemed  to  induce  me  to  take  that  route.  I 
refused  to  believe  the  story  of  disaster  which  they  told;  they 
seem  to  have  determined  to  avert  from  me  the  evil  conse- 
quences of  my  unbelief.  I  told  them  that  I  had  food  and 
clothing  for  my  friends  in  the  waggons ;  the  Bushmen  seem 
to  have  resolved  that  these  articles  should  go  into  the 
region  where  their  owners  really  were.  It  would  be  easy 
to  take  the  teacher  to  the  Zambese  near  the  Victoria  Falls, 
and  once  there  he  could  find  his  way  to  LinyantL  But 
what  did  he  want  there  when  one-half  of  his  friends  were 
dead,  and  the  rest  were  on  the  western  and  not  the  eastern 
road  ?  And  so  those  wild  children  of  the  desert  took  the 
wayward  and  unmanageable  white  man  into  their  charge, 
and  in  point  of  fact  led  him  against  his  will  to  the  assist- 
ance of  his  friend.  Kindly  feelings  must  therefore  have 
prompted  these  men  as  they  spoke  so  long  together  at  Maila 
before  they  came  to  a  decision.  We  could  not  understand 
their  language,  but,  interpreted  by  their  after  conduct,  it 
was  that  of  good-will  and  sympathy.  They  no  doubt 
described  in  their  speeches  my  seeking  my  friends  in  the 
north,  and  perhaps  suffering  as  they  had  done,  while  the 
survivors  sought  me  in  the  south,  and  lamented  that  they 
had  missed  me  on  the  road.  All  this  they  most  kindly 
resolved  to  prevent,  and  they  were  successful.  I  have  the 
utmost  pleasure   in  mentioning  this  striking  instance  of 


BUSHBIAN  GUIDANCE.  185 

genuine  benevolence  and  thoughtful  kindness  in  the  Bush- 
men of  the  African  desert. 

But  if  on  the  morning  of  my  departure  from  Maila,  Mo- 
kantse  and  his  Bushmen  arrived  just  in  time  to  prevent  my 
going  to  the  east  under  the  guidance  of  the  Makalaka,  and 
thus  missing  Mr.  Price,  the  Batowana  voyaging  homewards 
on  the  Zouga,  reached  More  oa  Maotu  also  in  time  to  meet  us 
there,  and  without  delay  to  take  to  Mr.  Price  the  news  that 
help  was  near  him.  All  of  us,  missionary,  Bushmen,  and 
Batowana,  conspired,  willingly  or  unwillingly,  to  assist  Mr. 
Price  at  the  earliest  possible  time.  These  circumstances  pro- 
duced a  deep  impression  on  every  one  in  the  party.  **  Sir," 
said  one  of  my  men,  who  had  not  professed  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian, **  God  has  been  leading  us  to  help  Mr.  Price."  Rever- 
ently and  thankfully  did  we  acknowledge  His  merciful 
guidance.  He  had  led  us  by  a  way  which  we  knew  not. 
He  raised  for  us  friends  even  among  the  wandering  Bush- 
men, who  kindly  resolved  to  save  us  from  our  own  mis- 
taken views,  and  to  bring  about  a  meeting  between  us  and 
our  friends. 

I  learned  afterwards  that  at  the  time  I  was  at  Maila  de- 
bating what  course  to  pursue.  Dr.  Livingstone  had  arrived 
in  the  country  of  the  Makololo,  after  performing  a  march 
on  foot  of  more  than  600  miles.  Had  I  accepted  the 
guidance  of  the  Makalaka  as  I  at  one  time  intended,  and 
taken  the  road  to  Victoria  Falls,  it  is  probable  that  I  should 
have  been  in  time  to  meet  the  Doctor  before  he  returned 
to  the  east  coast.  If  any  of  the  Makololo,  yielding  to  the 
personal  influence  and  advice  of  Dr.  Livingstone,  would 
have  removed  to  Tabacheu,  in  all  probability  the  mission 
would  have  been  commenced.  But  in  the  exercise  of  my 
best  judgment,  I  gave  up  the  eastern  for  what  I  considered 
a  better  route  to  the  Makololo ;  and  instead  of  meeting 
Dr.  Livingstone  I  met  Mr.  Price. 


CHAPTER  X. 


LINYANTI. 


In  the  quiet  of  the  Sunday  following  our  meeting  with 
Mr.  Price,  we  obtained  from  him  most  of  the  harrowing 
details  of  the  history  of  the  mission  at  Linyanti.  Messrs. 
Helmore  and  Price  arrived  at  that  town  on  Tuesday  the 
14th  of  February  1860,  after  a  journey  of  more  than  seren 
months  from  Kuruman.  They  were  aware  that  this  was 
perhaps  the  most  unhealthy  season  of  the  year  to  enter  that 
deadly  region ;  but  all  such  considerations  were  overcame 
by  their  anxiety  lest  Dr.  Livingstone  should  have  reached 
the  country  before  them,  and  lest  by  their  delay  they  shotdd 
miss  the  opportunity  of  being  introduced  by  him  to  the 
Makololo.  They  found,  however,  on  their  arrival  at  Lin- 
yanti, that  they  were  in  advance  of  the  Doctor,  who  was 
unexpectedly  detained  on  the  lower  parts  of  the  Zambeee 
until  May  1860.  They  therefore  introduced  themselves  as 
the  friends  of  Livingstone,  who  had  come,  like  Ngake  (the 
Doctor)  to  teach  the  people.  Their  arrival  was  welcomed 
by  the  Makololo  in  the  usual  way.  Large  parties  went 
out  to  meet  them,  some  two  or  three  days*  journey  from 
the  town.  On  the  day  after  their  arrival  an  ox  was  sent 
for  slaughter,  and  when  next  day  Sekeletu  himself  appeared 
to  welcome  them,  large  quantities  of  beer  were  brought  for 
the  refreshment  of  the  strangers.  Everybody  seemed 
pleased  :  the  chief  that  his  name  and  greatness  had  brought 
him  white  men  to  reside  in  his  town ;  the  missionaries  that 


LINYANTL  187 

a  new  and  populous  district  of  country  was  about  to  be 
opened  up  to  the  benign  influences  of  Christianity.  Mr. 
Helmore  had  preached  to  the  crowds  who  went  out  to  meet 
the  mission  party  on  the  Sunday  before  their  arrival  in  the 
town ;  and  every  Sunday,  as  long  as  he  was  able,  he  ad- 
dressed the  Makololo  in  Sekeletu's  court-yard  in  Linyanti. 
Some  of  the  head-men  who  had  begun  to  learn  to  read 
under  Dr.  Livingstone's  tuition,  now  resumed  their  efforts 
under  Mr.  Helmore  and  Mr.  Price.  But  the  missionaries 
soon  saw  that  whatever  influence  Dr.  Livingstone  on  his 
arrival  might  be  able  to  exert  upon  Sekeletu  and  the  Ma- 
kololo, in  his  absence  no  one  spoke  of  removing  to  the 
highlands  north  of  the  Zambese.  They  said  repeatedly 
that  if  they  removed  at  all  it  would  be  to  Lake  Ngami, 
after  they  had  conquered  Lechulatebe,  and  dispossessed 
him  of  his  country.  The  missionaries,  who  were  not  igno- 
rant of  their  danger  from  the  insalubrious  climate,  lost  no 
time  in  requesting  Sekeletu's  permission  to  remove  to  She- 
sheke,  which  Mr.  Helmore  thought  would  be  a  healthier 
locality  than  Linyanti,  and  near  enough  for  them  to  hear 
of  Dr.  Livingstone's  arrival  as  soon  as  it  should  take  place. 
The  chief,  however,  would  not  accede  to  this.  He  seemed 
jealous  of  the  frequent  references  to  Dr.  Livingstone,  and 
said  that  nobody  must  affect  their  arrangements  with  him 
as  chief  of  the  town.  He  must  not  be  separated  from  those 
who  had  come  to  teach  him  and  his  people ;  they  must  live 
with  him  at  Linyanti.  Not  wishing  to  offend  Sekeletu, 
and  hoping  that  Dr.  Livingstone  would  soon  arrive,  and 
assist  them  in  coming  to  some  settlement  of  the  question, 
the  missionaries  acquiesced  in  this  decision,  and  Mr.  Price 
built  a  temporary  hut. 

In  less  than  a  fortnight  after  their  arrival  at  Linyanti, 
the  whole  party,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Price 
and  a  servant,  were  stricken  down  with  sickness.   Although 


1 88  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

many  of  the  S3anptoins  of  poisoning  as  practised  bj 
natives  were  present,  all  these  were  also  characteristic  of 
African  fever.  It  needed  no  poison  in  the  ox  to  caoae 
liberal  rations  of  beef,  without  mach  exercise,  to  bring 
about  that  bilious  state  which  in  the  summer  months, 
and  in  such  a  region,  would  be  sure  to  beget  fever.  It 
needed  no  poison  in  the  beer  as  drunk  by  Mr.  Helmore 
and  Mr.  Price,  after  preaching  on  the  Sunday,  to  produce 
the  pains  in  the  head  and  loins  and  neck  of  which  they 
complained  on  their  return  to  their  camp.  The  fatigue  <^ 
preaching  in  the  open  air,  the  unhealthy  atmosphere  of 
the  town,  with  rank  vegetation  all  around,  and  a  hot  sun 
overhead,  were  abundantly  sufficient  to  produce  African 
fever. 

The  scene  at  the  camp  was  now  heart-rending.  Four 
sick  children,  guarded  by  a  sick  and  enfeebled  mother, 
lay  in  one  place,  their  sick  father  at  a  little  distanea 
**  The  Bechuana  men  were  lying  about,''  as  one  of  them 
afterwards  said  in  describing  the  scene  to  me,  '^  like  logs 
of  wood" — one  here  and  another  there,  rolled  in  their 
blanket  or  kaross,  utterly  prostrated  by  fever,  unaUe  to 
help  themselves,  and  some  of  them  in  a  deep  stupor.  The 
only  ray  of  hope  in  the  picture  was  that  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Price,  although  suflfering  severely,  were  never  both  ill  at 
once.  Either  the  one  or  the  other  was  able  to  wait  upon 
the  sick  and  the  helpless.  Mr.  Price  for  some  time  cooked 
food  for  the  whole  party,  servants  included.  On  the  2d 
of  March,  just  seventeen  days  after  their  arrival,  the  first 
death  took  place.  It  was  not  a  European  who  was  first 
carried  away  by  the  deadly  influences  by  which  all  were 
surrounded,  not  even  one  of  the  tender  children,  but 
Malatsi,  the  tallest  and  perhaps  the  strongest  of  the 
Bechuana  servants,  and  who  had  been  driver  of  Mr.  Price's 
waggon.     Five  days  after  this,  as  Mr.  Price  was  going  his 


THE  NEW  YCR] 

PUBLIC  llL:\ARi 


ASTOR,  LENOX  AMr> 
tULDEN  FOUNJCUTloHB 


UNYAl^TI.  189 

rounds  among  his  helpless  and  often  unconscious  com- 
panions, he  found,  on  touching  a  little  face  among  the  four 
children,  ^beside  whom  Mrs.  Helmore  lay,  that  the  cold 
band  of  death  had  been  there  before  him.  It  was  the  face 
of  httle  Henry  Helmore — ^the  first  of  the  children  who 
died.  Mr.  Price  removed  the  dead  from  among  the  living, 
and  placed  the  little  body  in  the  adjoining  tent.  His 
&ther  was  conscious,  and  on  learning  what  had  taken 
place,  requested  that  Henry's  mother  might  be  spared  the 
knowledge  of  this  bereavement  until  the  morning.  But 
this  thoughtfiilness  was  not  necessary,  for  the  mother  her- 
self was  then  quite  unconscious  of  all  that  was  passing 
around  her.  Henry  Helmore  was  buried  by  Mr.  Price  on. 
the  day  after  his  death,  the  8th  of  March ;  his  own  inffint 
daughter,  Eliza,  died  on  the«9th  in  the  iiarma' oif  its  mother, 
while  Mr.  Price  lay  in  a  wet  sheet,  endeavouring  to  get 
rid  of  an  attack  of  fever.  On  the  11th,  Selina  Helmore 
followed  her  brother ;  and  next  day  the  guardian  mother,^ 
wasted  by  disease  and  privation,  unajble  any  longer  to 
smooth  the  pillow  or  cool  the  parched  lips  of  her  children, 
was  released  from  her  long  watching ;  and  heaven,  sweet 
to  all  who  enter  it,  was  surely  heaven  twice  told  to  Anne 
Helmore.  She  had  striven  long  and  hard;  she  could  strive 
no  more.  In  her  last  conscious  moments  she  said  to  her 
husband,  **  she  had  no  wish  to  live :  she  desired  to  go  home 
to  Jesus."  In  the  wanderings  of  her  fevered  brain,  she 
had  again  seen  the  parched  wilderness,  and  heard  her  little 
ones  calling  to  her  for  water ;  and  once  more  she  fancied 
she  was  denying  herself  everything  for  the  sake  of  those 
she  loved.  In  her  dreams  *she  recalled  the  crossing  of 
broad  rivers,  and  the  standing  of  strangers  on  the  distant 
hank.  Her  mother's  heart  could  not  forget  distant  loved 
ones  in  those  half-conscious  days  and  nights.  She  dreamt  of 
her  home  as  it  had  been  in  Africa — of  the  new  home  she  had 


190  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

hoped  to  see  established  on  the  Zambese;  and  in  the  midst 
of  such  dreamings  and  troubled  feverish  musings,  her  trustfdl 
and  enduring  spirit  passed  into  the  light  and  joy  of  the 
true  home  of  heaven.  We  can  surely  say  of  Mrs.  Helmore, 
as  of  the  little  ones  whom  she  followed,  and  for  whose 
sake  she  endured  so  much,  ^  They  shall  hunger  no  more, 
neither  thirst  any  more;  neither  shall  the  sun  light  on 
them,  nor  any  heat.  For  the  Lamb,  which  is  in  the  midst 
of  the  throne,  shall  feed  them,  and  shall  lead  them  unto 
living  fountains  of  waters ;  and  God  shall  wipe  away  all 
tears  from  their  eyes." 

Death  now  seemed  to  stay  its  hand.  Mr.  Helmore  and 
the  two  surviving  children  improved  in  health,  and  were 
able  again  to  move  about,  and  the  men  were  now  also  con- 
valescent. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Price,  however,  had  both  severe 
attacks  of  fever  about  this  time,  from  which  they  happily 
recovered,  although  with  reduced  strength.  The  condition 
of  the  mission  was  now  anxiously  discussed  by  the  two 
missionaries.  Was  it  intended  that  they  should  thus 
build  huts  and  settle  at  Linyanti )  Had  not  Dr.  Living- 
stone himself  said  that  the  place  was  destroying  even  the 
Makololol  But  what  could  be  donel  Sekeletu  refused 
to  remove  to  the  highlands  of  Tabacheu,  and  objected  to 
the  missionaries  going  to  reside  at  Shesheke,  insisting  that 
as  they  had  come  to  teach  him  they  should  live  where  he 
lived.  Mr.  Price  now  proposed  that  they  should  leave 
their  property  in  Sekeletu's  keeping,  as  Dr.  Livingstone 
had  done — a  pledge  to  the  Makololo  that  they  would 
return,  and  that  they  themselves  should  recross  the  Chobe, 
and  seek  again  the  free  air  of  the  desert,  until  their  health 
should  be  somewhat  established,  and  the  winter  months 
enable  them  to  return.  If,  in  the  meantime.  Dr.  Living- 
stone should  arrive,  messengers  could  be  despatched  to  give 
them  intimation.     This  project  was  considered  ^eiionslj 


LINYANTL  191 

by  Mr.  Helmore,  and  earnestly  advocated  by  both  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Price.  But  to  go  back  any  distance  seemed 
to  Mr.  Helmore  like  deserting  his  post.  Something  might 
miscany.  The  Makololo  might  misunderstand  their  move- 
ments. When  he  arrived,  Dr.  Livingstone  might  not 
have  time  to  wait  for  the  going  and  coming  of  messengers. 
At  linyanti  he  was  to  meet  Livingstone,  upon  whom  he 
considered  the  success  of  the  mission  depended;  at  Linyanti 
therefore  he  would  remain.  The  result  of  these  consulta- 
tions must  have  reached  the  Makololo,  for  they  told  Living- 
stone at  Linyanti  in  August  that  Helmore  had  said  that 
"  whoever  did,  he  would  never  turn  back  from  his  work.*' 
Now  no  one  thought  of  "turning  back  from  the  work;" 
this  idea  was  not  present  to  the  missionaries,  their  discus- 
sion being  about  the  best  method  of  doing  the  work. 

But  the  interval  of  convale^scence  was  not  of  long  dura- 
tion. After  a  journey  to  the  town  about  the  middle  of 
April,  Mr.  Helmore  had  a  relapse  of  fever,  which  now 
entirely  prostrated  him,  and  claimed  him  for  its  own. 
Although  his  friends  were  now  filled  with  anxiety  and 
alarm  about  his  condition,  he  himself  continued  to  speak 
confidently  of  getting  better,  and  of  establishing  a  mission 
among  the  benighted  Makololo.  The  disease,  however,  was 
evidently  making  rapid  advances,  and  while  his  friend  still 
retained  the  power  of  speech,  Mr.  Price  requested  to  know 
his  wishes  concerning  his  two  surviving  children.  Soon 
hiB  mind  began  to  wander.  He  is  with  his  flock  at  Likat- 
long ;  he  is  now  in  London  assuming  the  responsibility  of 
leader  of  the  Makololo  mission ;  anon  all  evil  powers  seem 
muted  to  hinder  his  progress.  He  wanders  in  the  desert 
in  search  of  water,  and  finds  none ;  his  waggons  lie  in  the 
wilderness  without  oxen  to  pull  them ;  he  stumbles  over 
the  fresh  graves  of  those  near  and  dear  to  him ;  but  still 
he  perseveres.     The  scene  changes  in  his  troubled  vision, 


192  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

and  he  stands,  the  preacher  to  the  heathen,  delivering  to 
them  the  word  of  life.  But  his  preaching  is  interrupted ; 
he  waits  for  some  one  to  assist  him.  Livingstone  has  at 
length  arrived !  He  fancies  he  hears  the  greeting  of  lus 
former  friend  and  fellow-labourer.  Difficulties  now  vanish ; 
churches  and  schools  arise ;  the  imagined  voice  of  praise, 
in  which  infants  and  old  men  join,  fills  the  soul  of  the 
dying  missionary  with  joy.  Slowly  meanwhile  the  sands 
of  life  run  down ;  dreaming  gives  place  to  torpor,  and  on 
the  2 1  st  of  April  torpor  yields  to  death.  But  what  is  death 
to  this  humble  and  faithful  servant  of  Christ  t  It  is  death 
which  opens  to  his  spirit's  vision  a  scene  fairer  than  he  had 
ever  dreamt  of,  and  which  itself  is  no  dream,  but  a  reality. 
He  awakes  from  the  feverish  visions  and  torpor  and  death 
of  the  tent  at  Linyanti  to  the  lovely  and  everlasting  hfe  of 
heaven.  He  awakes  to  hear  a  voice  of  greeting,  more 
cheering  and  thrilling  than  of  earthly  friend,  the  voice  of 
Him  who  has  been  the  witness  of  his  self-sacrificing  stead- 
fastness and  sincerity,  his  love  to  man  and  to  God.  It  is 
his  Saviour  who  welcomes  him  :  "  Well  done,  good  and 
faithful  servant,  thou  hast  been  faithiiil  over  a  few  things : 

1  will  make  thee  ruler  over  many  things ;  enter  thou  into 
the  joy  of  thy  Lord.  Inasmuch  as  thou  hast  done  it  unto 
one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  thou  hast  done  it 
unto  me." 

"  What  were  my  feelings,"  writes  Mr.  Price  to  the  Direc- 
tors of  the  Missionary  Society,  "  on  the  morning  of  the 

2  2d  of  April,  as  I  followed  the  remains  of  my  dear  brother 
to  the  silent  tomb,  can  better  be  imagined  than  expressed. 
All  then  fell  on  me,  and  I  was  so  reduced  that  I  was  hardly 
able  to  move,  and  my  poor  wife  had  entirely  lost  the  use 
of  her  limbs." 

Tabe,  a  deacon  of  the  church  at  Likatlong,  died  on  the 
11th  of  March,  and  on  the  1 9th  Setloke,  a  Christian  native 


LINYANn.  193 

also  from  Likatlong.  Tabe  had  early  been  converted  from 
heathenism,  and  being  a  person  of  some  ability,  as  well  as 
of  influence  in  the  town,  his  earnestness  and  zeal  led  others 
to  follow  his  example.  He  was  a  teacher  of  the  school  and 
exhorter  of  the  people  at  Likatlong  before  the  arrival  of 
Mr.  Helmore  at  that  station,  and  while  the  people  were 
still  connected  as  an  out-station  with  Griqua  Town.  From 
the  first  he  was  one  of  Mr.  Helmore's  right-hand  assistants ; 
and  it  was  thought  a  very  happy  arrangement  when  one 
possessed  of  so  many  years'  experience  consented  to  join 
Ids  missionary  in  what  every  native  in  South  Bechuana- 
land  from  the  first  regarded  as  a  hazardous  enterprise. 
Had  a  mission  been  established,  the  service  of  such  a  man 
would  have  been  very  great.  Mr.  Price  remarked  that  in 
Tabe's  case,  as  well  as  in  that  of  Setloke,  there  was  veiy 
great  physical  pain,  along  with  the  same  symptoms  which 
were  exhibited  by  the  others.  Tabe  would  sometimes 
come  screaming  to  the  front  of  his  waggon  in  the  height 
of  fever  and  in  a  paroxysm  of  pain. 

It  was  the  impression  of  Mr.  Price,  as  well  as  of  the  Be- 
chuanas  who  accompanied  the  mission  party,  that  the  deaths 
at  Linyanti  were  occasioned  by  poison  administered  by  the 
Makololo,  and  not  from  fever.  But  if  African  fever  sup- 
plies us  with  an  adequate  cause  for  these  deaths,  it  is  un- 
necessary that  we  should  seek  a  further  reason  in  the  occult 
administration  of  native  poisons  in  an  ox  and  in  beer. 
And  unfortunately  ten  years'  experience  in  a  district  annu- 
ally visited  by  this  disease,  has  brought  to  my  knowledge 
more  than  one  instance  of  similar  disaster  among  trading 
and  hunting  parties,  equally  deadly,  although  not  equally 
extensive.  Then  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  mis- 
sionaries reached  Linyanti  at  one  of  the  most  unhealthy 
seasons  in  the  year,  and  that  they  were  completely  exhausted 
by  the  privation  and  fatigue  of  their  journey.     Instead  of 

N 


194         NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

a  life  of  hardship  and  daily  bodily  exertion,  they  and  thdr 
men  had  regular  supplies  of  food  without  much  exercise. 
In  short,  all  the  circumstances  were  in  the  highest  d^;ree 
calculated  to  produce  fever. 

The  suspicion  of  foul  play  on  the  part  of  Sekeletu  would 
never  have  been  entertained  but  for  his  after  rapacity  and 
cruelty  towaixis  those  who  were  at  least  his  guests,  if  not 
his  friends.  Here  his  conduct  is  entirely  without  justifica- 
tion.  But  while  we  remember  that  ^^  two  blacks  do  not 
make  one  white,"  it  is  only  right  to  mention  that  in  the 
matter  of  plundering  the  mission  property  the  guilt  of 
Sekeletu  was  at  least  equalled  by  that  of  another,  who 
tempted  him  to  adopt  the  unworthy  course  which  he  pur- 
sued. And,  strange  to  say,  this  enemy  at  once  to  Sekeletu 
and  to  the  missionary  party  belonged  himself  to  Uie  latter. 

If  the  native  teacher  Tabe  was  a  source  of  strengdi 
to  a  mission  among  a  new  tribe,  he  brought  with  him  a 
wild  and  desperate  young  man  called  Mahuse,  whose  influ- 
ence was  calculated  to  counteract  all  the  good  that  his  master 
effected.  This  pfsrson's  character  was  well  known  in  the 
Euruman  district  Mr.  Moffat  recomm^ided  that  he  should 
be  expelled  from  the  mission  party.  But  he  had  ingra- 
tiated himself  with  Tabe  :  and  Mr.  Helmore,  animated  by 
the  charity  which  hopeth  all  things,  and  believing  that  dose 
contact  with  such  a  company  for  months  might  beneficiaUy 
affect  the  young  man's  character  and  future  life,  did  no^ 
insist  on  his  separation  from  the  expedition.  Soon  after 
their  arrival  at  Linyanti,  Mahuse  found  the  atmosphere  ot 
Sekeletu's  court-yard  more  congenial  than  the  encampment 
of  the  missionaries.  Of  course  he  figured  among  the  Ma- 
]cololo  as  a  distinguished  personage,  and  was  consulted  by 
Sekeletu  on  all  matters  affecting  the  south,  or  the  manners 
and  customs  of  the  white  men.  Having  roamed  over  a 
considerable  extent  of  country,  Mahuse  was  able  to  speak 


LINYANTI.  195 

largdy  of  his  travels,  and  his  fluency  was  not  at  all  inter- 
rupted when  his  information  came  to  an  end.  It  is  most 
provoking  to  observe  the  credence  which  such  clever  un- 
principled fellows  obtain  all  over  the  country.  I  have 
known  several  instances  of  imposition  equally  glaring  with 
that  of  Mahuse,  though  not  attended  with  such  lamentable 
consequences.  When  Mr.  Helmore  died,  Mahuse  informed 
Sekeletu,  that  if  this  event  had  taken  place  in  the  south, 
all  the  property  of  the  deceased  would  have  fallen  to  the 
chief  in  whose  country  he  died.  He  quoted  supposed  cases 
illustrative  of  his  position,  in  which  Moshesh  and  Sechele 
and  Mahure,  and  other  chieftains,  had  helped  themselves. 
^'  Of  course,"  said  the  tempter,  "  being  ignorant,  and  a&aid 
of  these  white  people,  you,  Sekeletu,  are  likely  to  let  Mr. 
Price  return  with  all  the  property  intact.  The  great  chiefs 
whom  I  have  named  would  not  do  so."  Now  Sekeletu 
must  have  known  perfectly  that  all  this  was  false;  but 
being  as  weak  and  vacillating  in  his  character  as  Sebetuane 
his  predecessor  had  been  energetic  and  determined,  he 
yielded  to  the  advice  of  Mahuse  the  tempter,  who  was 
backed  by  a  party  of  hare-brained  youths  acting  the  part 
of  councillors  to  this  African  Behoboam. 

And  so  while  Mr.  Price  was  slowly  packing  up  the  pro- 
perty of  his  deceased  friends,  and  making  ready  to  return 
to  the  south,  his  movements  were  closely  watched  by  the 
agents  of  Sekeletu.  A  little  effort  soon  prostrated  a  frame 
which,  however  wiry  and  powerful,  was  now  much  im- 
paired by  disease,  so  that  it  was  not  till  the  end  of  May 
that  Mr.  Price  had  finished  his  preparations.  The  presence 
of  sickness  and  death  in  the  camp  had  for  some  time 
made  the  Makololo  strangers  in  it ;  but  after  Mr.  Helmore 
was  buried  they  crowded  the  place  by  day,  stealing  openly, 
and  abnost  unchallenged,  for  Mr.  Price  was  often  unable  to 
rise  from  the  pallet  where  be  lay.     At  night  they  prowled 


196        NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

about  the  waggons,  even  lifting  the  sail-covering,  and  drag- 
ging away  the  wearing  apparel  of  the  sleeping  missionary. 
There  was  no  redress  to  be  obtained  from  the  chief  or  from 
the  head-men.  Sekeletu  completely  forgot  the  outward 
dignity  of  a  chief  in  his  own  town,  and  openly  derided  the 
missionary  when  he  made  complaints. 

When  Mr.  Price  announced  that  he  was  now  teady  to 
depart,  Sekeletu  made  his  appearance  at  the  head  of  a 
numerous  company  of  attendants.  Pulling  aside  Mr.  Hel- 
more's  new  waggon,  in  which  Mr.  Price  had  stowed  many 
of  his  own  things,  as  well  as  what  had  belonged  to  Mr. 
Hehnore,  Sekeletu  declared  it  to  be  his  property,  and  all 
that  it  contained.  Acting  evidently  under  Mahuse's  in- 
structions, he  next  demanded  two  front  and  two  hind  oxen, 
in  order  to  train  a  team  for  himself;  and  he  postponed  the 
departure  of  Mr.  Price  until  his  men  had  assisted  in  t^e 
work  of  training  these  oxen.  When  at  length,  on  the  19th 
of  June,  Mr.  Price  took  his  departure  from  a  place  where 
he  had  endured  so  much,  he  was  accompanied  by  Sekeletu, 
who  rode  in  his  newly  acquired  waggon !  He  levied  a  fine 
on  Mr.  Price  at  every  river,  delaying  the  ferrying  until  his 
demands  were  met.  ^^All  my  guns  and  ammunition," 
writes  Mr.  Price  to  the  Directors,  ^^  both  tents,  and  a  great 
many  other  things,  were  taken  while  I  was  still  in  town.** 
The  meanness  of  Sekeletu,  however,  reached  its  hei^t  at 
the  Chobe,  which,  being  the  last  river,  was  also  the  last 
occasion  for  lev3ring  a  fine.  ^^  After  a  good  deal  of  plead- 
ing," says  Mr.  Price,  ^*  I  was  allowed  a  few  things  for  the 
journey,  such  as  a  couple  of  shirts,  a  vest  or  two,  two  or 
three  pairs  of  trousers,  an  old  coat  that  I  had  worn  in  Eng- 
land, an  old  pair  of  shoes  which  I  had  on,  etc.  Already 
they  had  taken  all  my  bed-clothing,  with  the  exception  of 
what  was  just  sufficient  for  one  bed,  for  the  other  we  had 
a  kaross.     But  before  my  oxen  could  cross  the  Chobe,  I 


LTNYANTI.  197 

must  needs  deliver  up  our  blanket.  Every  grain  of  com 
which  I  had  for  food  for  the  men  they  had  taken ;  and  for 
all  these  things  I  did  not  get  even  a  goat  for  slaughter  on 
the  road.  These  were  my  prospects  for  a  journey  of  up- 
wards of  1000  miles  to  Kuruman." 

Mr.  Price  was  of  opinion  that  the  Mambari,  or  half-caste 
Portuguese,  who  were  in  the  habit  of  trading  with  the  Ma- 
kololo  for  ivory  and  for  slaves,  had  also  used  their  utmost 
endeavour  to  poison  the  minds  of  the  Makololo  against  the 
new  missionaries,  and  against  Dr.  Livingstone.  It  was 
to  the  advantage  of  the  Mambari  that  no  missionary  settle* 
ment  should  take  place  in  that  region ;  and  Mr.  Price  was 
convinced  that  they  had  actively  exerted  themselves^  along 
with  Mahusie,  to  mislead  Sekeletu  as  to  the  course  which 
he  ought  to  pursue  towards  them. 

It  is  thus  abundantly  evident  that  it  cannot  be  said  on 
behalf  of  Sekeletu  and  the  Makololo  what  I  boldly  advanced 
in  my  ignorance  at  Maila,  *'  Sekeletu  is  the  friend  of  mis- 
sionaries ;   he  would  neither  kill   them  nor  rob   them.*^ 
So  far  as  character  is  concerned,  that  of  the  Makololo 
chief  and  people  would  not  sink  much  lower  in  the  estima- 
tion of  natives,  even  could  it  be  clearly  proved  that  they 
were  guilty  of  poisoning.     Hospitality  is  a  sacred  obliga- 
tion among  the  tribes  of  Southern  Africa.     A  chief  may 
refuse  admission  to  his  country,  but  having  invited  the 
stranger  to  enter,  his  good  name  demands  that  no  harm 
should  befall  him  as  long  as. he  remains  his  guest.     It  was 
this  feeling  which  protected  isolated  traders  and  travellers 
in  Kaffirland  during  the  Kaffir  wars.     These  men  had 
entered  the  country  in  time  of  peace,  and  were  under  the 
protection  of  the  chief.     The  ^  leina "  (name)  of  the  chief 
would  suffer  were  anything  to  happen  to  them.     Now 
Sekeletu  degraded  himself  in  the  eyes  of  all  natives,  if  not 
in  killing  his  guests  with  poison,  by  robbing  them  when 


198  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVEH. 

sick  and  lielpless  and.  completely  in  his  power.  I  hare 
never  heard  a  native  speak  of  this  conduct  bat  as  an 
enormons  offence — ^ahnost  the  greatest  that  could  be  com- 
mitted. Their  argument,  indeed,  seems  to  have  been  :  he 
who  could  rob  the  little  children  of  a  guest,  and  send  them 
away  hungry  and  almost  naked  from  his  town,  had  a 
heart  black  enough  for  anything.  And  seeing  that  their 
parents  died  so  suddenly,  there  is  no  doubt  he  murdered 
them.  K  he  did  not  murder  them,  the  native  goes  on  to 
argue,  why  did  he  not  himself  assist  Mr.  Price  to  collect 
all  the  property,  and  send  a  party  of  his  men  to  narrate 
to  Mr.  Helmore's  friends  the  circumstances  attending  the 
sudden  death  of  so  many  in  his  town  t  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  m^ority  of  South  African  chiefs  would  have 
followed  this  course  in  similar  circumstances;  and  there 
is  little  question  that  Sekeletu — ^impulsive  and  easily 
persuaded — ^would  himself  have  done  so  had  Mahuse  been 
as  energetic  and  eloquent  in  recommending  it  as  he  was  in 
the  advocacy  of  heartless  spoliation. 

This  is  fully  borne  out  by  what  took  place  about  six 
weeks  after  Mr.  Price  left  the  Makololo.  Joseph  Arend,  a 
native  hunter  from  Euruman,  then  visited  the  Victoria  Falls, 
and  was  the  first  stranger  from  the  south  who  arrived  in  the 
country  after  the  departure  of  Mr.  Price.  The  Makololo 
were  at  first  suspicious  as  to  the  object  of  his  visits  and 
came  to  his  camp  in  their  war-dress.  Finding  however 
that  Arend  had  not  met  Mr.  Price,  and  knew  nothing  of 
the  recent  disasters  at  Linyanti,  they  proceeded  to  gite 
their  version  of  the  story.  Sekeletu  sent  two  messengen 
to  Arend  to  inform  him  that  the  missionaiy  party  had 
died  of  fever;  and  that  he  (Sekeletu)  had  urged  Mr. 
Price  to  leave,  "  lest  he  also  should  die,  and  in  order  that 
he  might  inform  his  friends  what  had  happened."  Mr. 
Price,  they  added,  had  left  a  waggon  behind,  which  was  in 


LJNYANTL  199 

Sekdetu's  charge.  This  wretched  weakling  had  now  re- 
pented him  of  the  evil  counsel  of  Mahnse,  or  he  dreaded 
its  consequences.  Some  one  with  equal  eloquence  and 
more  sense  than  this  firebrand  had  come  to  the  assistance 
of  the  unworthy  successor  of  Sebetuane.  This  councillor 
had  no  doubt  plainly  pointed  out  that  if  they  admitted 
that  they  took  the  waggon  by  force,  every  one  would 
believe  they  had  also  poisoned  the  owners.  Therefore 
it  must  be  denied  that  it  was  taken  by  force,  and  be 
strongly  affirmed  by  everybody  that  Mr.  Price  had  left  it 
in  their  charge.  Soon  after  this  Dr.  Livingstone  arrived 
at  linyanti ;  and  in  addition  to  this  story  the  Makololo 
endeavoured  to  prejudice  him  against  Mr.  Price.  They 
had  good  reason  to  fear  Mr.  Price's  testimony ;  and  their 
only  chance  was  to  endeavour  to  damage  such  an  awkward 
witness.  In  answer  to  Dr.  Livingstone's  inquiries,  Soke- 
letu  said  Mr.  Price  had  given  him  Mr.  Helmore's  wag- 
gon. But  the  suspicions  of  the  Doctor  were  roused 
when  he  saw  Mr.  Helmore's  property  lying  about,  although 
he  seemed  at  a  loss  upon  whose  shoulders  to  lay  the 
bLune. 

Sekeletu  however  soon  after  made  a  confession  to  Sebehwe, 
another  hunter,  and  son  of  the  native  teacher  at  the  Ban- 
gwaketse,  which  may  be  received  as  very  near  the  truth. 
He  repudiated  the  charge  of  poisoning;  and  said  that  if 
he  had  intended  to  kill  the  white  people,  how  was  it  that 
he  allowed  any  to  escape  1  The  fact  that  people  weak  and 
helpless  had  been  permitted  by  him  to  leave  his  countiy, 
would  show  that  he  had  not  the  guilt  of  killing  those  who 
died.  But  he  confessed  that  he  had  taken  the  property 
of  the  deceased  at  the  suggestion  of  two  of  the  mission 
party — one  belonging  to  Likatlong  and  the  other  to  Kuru- 
man.  He  said  he  was  now  ready  to  make  restitution; 
and  asked   Sebehwe  in   the  meantime  to  take  out  the 


200  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

waggon  to  Mr.  Moffat  to  show  that  he  repented  of  trhat 
he  had  done.  He  also  expressed  his  willingness  to  pay 
whatever  Mr.  Moffat  might  ask  for  the  goods  which  had 
been  destroyed. 

On  the  26th  June,  Mr.  Price  started  from  the  Chobe 
river,  and  left  the  country  of  the  inhospitable  Makoldo 
behind  him.  Although  all  very  much  reduced  by  sickness, 
they  were  now  proceeding  into  a  healthier  coimtiy ;  the 
bracing  winter  had  also  set  in;  so  there  was  cause  for 
them  to  hope  and  to  take  courage.  The  first  account 
which  I  received  of  Mr.  Price's  party  was  frx)m  a  Bushman 
who  had  seen  them  at  this  stage  in  their  journey.  Alas ! 
that  wh^n  I  myself  met  with  him  two  months  later,  he  had 
to  lament  another  bereavement,  which  was  the  bitter  dr^s 
of  a  cup  of  which  my  friend  had  so  freely  partaken,  and  a 
stroke  which  was  all  the  more  severe  because  entirely 
unexpected  at  the  time.  In  describing  the  lamented  death 
of  Mrs.  Price,  whose  lovely  character  had  endeared  her  to 
all  who  knew  her,  and  whose  gifts  and  accomplishments 
would  have  enabled  her  to  further  the  objects  of  the 
mission,  while  she  cheered  and  adorned  the  home  of  the 
missionary, — ^I  shall  quote  the  touching  words  of  h^ 
husband  : — 

*'  On  the  plain  of  the  Mababe,  on  the  evening  of  the 
4th  of  July,  Mr.  Helmore's  two  children,  my  own  dear 
wife,  and  I  met  together  for  our  evening  meal,  when  we 
entered  into  conversation  about  what  we  had  seen  and 
suffered ;  and  feeling  that  we  were  beginning  to  breathe 
again  the  fresh  air  of  the  desert,  we  admonished  one 
another  to  forget  the  past  and  think  of  our  mercies ;  for 
we  felt  that  we  had  still  what  might,  through  the  mercy 
of  Qody  bring  us  within  reach  of  help.  My  dear  wife 
had  been  for  a  long  time  utterly  helpless,  but  we  all 
thought  she  was  getting  better.     She  went  to  sleep  that 


LINYANTX  201 

night,  alas!  to  wake  no  more!  In  the  morning  early 
I  found  her  breathing  very  hard.  I  spoke  to  her,  and 
tried  to  wake  her,  but  it  was  too  late«  I  watched  her  all 
the  morning.  She  became  worse  and  worse,  and  a  little 
after  mid-day  her  spirit  took  its  flight  to  Qod  who  gave  it. 
I  buried  her  the  same  evening  under  a  tree — ^the  only 
tree  on  [the  whole  of  the  immense  plain  of  the  Mababe. 
This  was  to  me  a  heavy  stroke,  but  *  God  was  my  refuge 
and  strength,  a  very  present  help  in  trouble.'  Such  things 
are  hard  to  bear ;  but  Ood  knoweth  our  frame,  and  as  our 
day  is,  so  is  our  strength.  .  With  a  heavy  heart  I  left  that 
place  on  the  following  day,  and  crossed  the  Mababe.*' 

It  is  peculiarly  hard  for  some  natures  to  die  in  a  foreign 
land;  they  long  for  another  loving  look  at  the  old 
^miliar  scene ;  to  hear  once  more  the  old  familiar  voices. 
But  it  is  surely  a  more  dreary  thing  to  leave  behind  at 
death  all  the  home  which  the  spirit  knows.  It  is  no 
doubt  sad  to  think  of  a  yoimg  lady,  beloved  by  parents 
and  brothers  and  sisters  in  England,  being  buried  by  her 
lonely  husband  beneath  the  solitary  tree  in  an  African 
wilderness.  But  after  all  the  lonesome  thought  has  refer- 
ence only  to  the  body.  The  Christian  is  not  alone,  even  in  the 
valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway ; 
I  will  come  again,  and  receive  you  unto  myself.  Where  I 
am,  there  shall  also  my  servant  be."  In  the  companion- 
ship of  Jesus  there  was  no  loneliness  for  the  gentle  spirit 
which  was  disembodied  on  the  plain  of  the  Mababe. 
Many  a  lonelier  soul  takes  its  unbefriended  flight  from 
downiest  pillow,  and  from  sumptuous  sick-chamber  crowded 
with  weeping  mourners.  We  need  not  then  weep  for  her, 
but  for  ourselves  and  our  children. 

On  the  southern  side  of  the  Mababe  Mr.  Price  met  with 
Bushmen,  and  the  agreement  with  the  Makololo  guides 
who  still  accompanied  the  missionary  was  that  their  task 


202  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

should  be  at  on  end  when  they  could  leave  him  in  the 
hands  of  the  Bushmen.     It  would  seem  that  the  cruelty  of 
the  Makololo  was  not  yet  complete.     Mr.  Price  afterwards 
learned  that  they  gave  instructions  to  the  Bushmen  to  lead 
the  waggons  into  the  habitat  of  the  tsetse.     Whether  the 
Makololo  were  guilty  of  this  final  act  of  malice  or  not,  it  is 
certain  that  the  Bushmen  led  them  ri^t  into  the  fly,  and 
then  ran  away.     Now,  they  had  nothing  to  gain  from  such 
treachery,  but  eyer3rthing  to  lose.     They  lost  their  pay,  and 
the  pleasant  life  of  travelling  with  a  white  man's  waggcm, 
which  a  Bushman  always  enjoys.     It  is  difficult  to  suppose 
that  this  act  was  not  intentional ;  and  it  is  equally  difficult 
to  acquit  the  Makololo  of  the  chief  share  in  its  guilt,  inas- 
much as  Bushmen  would  be  afraid  to  refuse  obedience  to 
their  command.     Once  in  the  fly,  and  without  guides,  Mr. 
Price  despaired  of  being  able  to  save  the  forty-four  oxen 
which  now  constituted  his  troop.  He  therefore  made  straight 
for  the  Tamalakan  river,  which  he  followed  souUiward  to 
the  Zouga.     Mr.  Helmore's  old  waggon  had  broken  down, 
and  been  left  behind  on  the  north  of  the  Mababe;  and 
one  of  the  front  wheels  of  Mr.  Price's  own  waggon  broke 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Lechulatebe's  town.     With  fever 
still   clinging  to  him,  it   was  with  great  difficulty  Mr* 
Price  made  new  spokes  of  such  wood  as  he  could  find; 
but  although  performed  in  such   circumstances,  his  it- 
pairs  afterwards  sufficed   to  take  the  waggon  to  Kmu- 
man.      Lechulatebe  had   shown  great  kindness  to  Mr. 
Price  and  the  two   orphan   children    of    Mr.   Helmore. 
When  the  waggon  broke   down,   he   sent  assistance  to 
remove  it  to  the  town ;  and  during  the  month  of  their  stay 
at  the  Lake,  neither  Mr.  Price  nor  the  children  wanted 
anything  which  it  was  in  the  power  of  Lechulatebe  to 
provide.     Mr.  Price  had  still  a  little  tea  and  coffee  and 
sugar  left.     The  chief,  who  was  very  partial  to  these  things 


LINYANTL  203 

gave  in  exchange  abundance  of  such  food  as  his  town 
supplied.  Eveiy  day  the  tribute  in  meat  (the  breast  of  . 
eveiy  animal  killed)  arrived  from  some  outlying  district. 
It  might  be  the  flesh  of  rhinoceros  or  bufialo,  gnu  or  zebra, 
giraffe  or  eland ;  but  whatever  it  was,  Mr.  Price  was 
welcome  to  a  share.  The  missionary  was  now  a  fixture  at 
the  Lake ;  for  although  the  waggon  was  capable  of  repair, 
nothing  could  save  the  tsetse-bitten  oxen  from  death. 
With  nothing  to  purchase  a  fresh  team,  or  even  food  for 
himself  and  his  men,  it  was  welcome  news  to  Mr.  Price  to 
hear  from  the  boatmen  of  Lechulatebe  that  ^'  a  missionary 
on  his  way  to  the  Makololo,  had  touched  the  Zouga  at 
More  oa  Maotu."  Meeting  with  us  on  the  Zouga  after 
such  dark  and  sorrowful  experiences,  was,  in  Mr.  Price's 
own  words,  "  like  a  resurrection  from  the  dead." 

Summing  up  his  personal  connection  with  these  calamities, 
Mr.  Price  wrote  to  the  Directors  of  the  Society : — ^^  If  suf- 
fering in  mission  work  is  doing  anything,  then  I  have 
done  something ;  if  not,  then  I  have  done  but  little.  My 
prayer  now  is,  that  God  will  direct  me  to  some  suitable 
sphere,  where  I  may  spend  my  life  in  the  service  of  Christ 
among  the  heathen."  This  prayer  has  been  graciously 
answered.  In  the  active  duties  of  a  mission-station,  Mr. 
Price  has  now  spent  years  of  earnest  and  willing  service  to 
Christ  In  this  work  he  has  companions  and  fellow- 
labourers;  but  in  the  higher  service  of  suffering,  in  the 
dark  experiences  at  the  fever-bed  and  the  grave's  mouth  at 
inhospitable  Linyanti,  he  is  alone  among  his  brethren. 


CHAPTER  XL 

RETURN  JOURNEY  FROM  LAKE  NGAML 

On  Monday  the  10th  September,  we  crossed  over  to  the 
west  bank  of  the  Zouga  at  Letsebogo  ya  KhamCy  or 
Khame's  Ford.  The  Makoba  first  directed  us  to  a  very 
deep  part  of  the  river,  where  they  had  collected  seTcral 
boats  for  the  purpose  of  ferrying  over  our  waggons  in 
pieces,  and  also  our  goods.  Mr.  Price  recollected  that  on 
the  Saturday  he  had  passed  a  very  shallow  part  of  the 
river,  where  he  thought  waggons  could  cross  without  being 
unloaded  The  Makoba  at  first  denied  that  there  was  a 
ford,  but  on  being  assured  that  I  should  give  them  a  much 
higher  reward  for  the  discovery  of  a  ford  than  for  the  use 
of  their  boats,  they  guided  us  to  the  place.  After  carefully 
examining  it,  we  found  that  waggons  could  cross  without 
difficulty.  We  were  thus  saved  some  three  days'  hard 
work  in  unloading  the  waggons  and  ferrying  them  acroaB. 
The  same  night  I  was  able  to  make  arrangements  for  leav- 
ing three  waggons  and  oxen  here,  while  we  accompanied 
Mr.  Price  to  the  lake,  where  our  arrival  was  eagerly  ex- 
pected by  the  little  children,  as  well  as  by  the  Bechuaim 
servants.  In  order  to  expedite  our  movements,  I  emptied 
out  the  goods  from  my  own  waggon,  taking  only  an  assort- 
ment of  articles  likely  to  be  of  use  in  buying  oxen  from 
Lechulatebe.  With  a  light  waggon  and  two  spans  of 
oxen,  we  proceeded  as  fast  as  the  dense  thorn-trees  would 
allow  us. 


RETUBN  JOURNEY.  205 

On  oUr*  way  we  passed  the  remnant  of  the  oxen 
of  Messrs.  Helmore  and  Price.  They  were  grazing  in 
charge  of  some  men  at  a  little  village  called  Matupenyane, 
and  miserable  objects  they  were.  Only  twelve  were  now 
left  out  of  forty-four,  and  of  these  only  three  reached  Kuru- 
man.  It  was  Mr.  Price's  opinion  that  these  three  had  not 
been  bitten,  as  they  never  were  ill  like  the  rest.  There 
stood  the  poor  creatures,  doomed  to  die ;  their  hair  on 
end,  their  eyes  sunken,  their  bones  almost  piercing  the 
skin,  and  most  of  them  with  a  large  swelling  outside  the 
throat.  A  native  of  this  district,  after  speaking  about  the 
tsetse  and  its  deadly  effects,  put  to  me  the  following  ques^ 
tion  :  **  You  white  people  are  very  wise ;  you  say  you  have 
the  word  of  God  in  your  possession,  and  it  is  no  doubt 
true,  for  you  can  make  waggons  and  guns,  and  can  ride  on 
horses.  Explain  therefore  this  difficulty,  which  baffles  all 
black  people.  The  buffalo  and  the  common  ox  are  so  much 
alike  that  even  Bushmen  sometimes  mistake  the  track  of 
the  one  when  it  crosses  or  mixes  with  that  of  the  other. 
The  tsetse  kills  the  ox,  but  it  cannot  kill  the  buffalo.  In 
the  same  way,  the  zebra  and  the  horse,  although  resem- 
bling each  other,  do  not  meet  with  the  same  fate  when 
bitten  by  tsetse :  the  horse  dies  speedily,  the  zebra  is 
none  the  worse.  Since  you  white  people  have  come 
among  us  with  your  wisdom,  we  blacks  say  to  one  another, 
*  Now  we  shall  be  told  the  mystery  of  the  tsetse-bite.' " 
To  such  inquiries,  in  which  there  was  always  suppressed 
sarcasm,  I  had  to  return  for  answer  that  I  was  more 
ignorant  about  the  tsetse  than  they  themselves.  I  may 
also  say  here  that  there  is  some  reason  to  doubt  the  entire 
correctness  of  the  statement  that  donkeys  are  not  killed  by 
the  bite  of  this  insect.  An  English  gentleman,  who  for 
several  years  in  succession  hunted  in  the  tsetse  districts  on 
the  Limpopo,  informed  me  that  he  lost  several  of  his 


206  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER, 

donkeys  in  circumstances  whicli  led  him  strongly  to  suspect 
that  long  exposure  to  the  bite  of  the  fly  would  prove  fatal 
to  this  animal.     The  elephant  has  sagacity  enou^  to  per- 
ceive that  among  the  tsetse  he  is  safe  from  his  mounted 
pursuers.     Accordingly,  a  troop  of  elephants,  in  a  district 
often  visited  by  hunters,  will,  at  the  approach  of  danger, 
make  off  at  once  for  the  habitat  of  the  fly,  and  there  browse 
in  safety.     Occasionally,  if  the  troop  is  numerous,  and  there 
are  some  veiy  large  tusks  to  tempt  the  hunter,  he  will 
return  to  the  waggon,  and,  tearing  up  an  old  waggon  sail, 
make  a  covering  for  the  whole  body  of  his  horse,  and  fittii^ 
closely  to  it.     Next  day  he  selects  the  oldest  or  most 
worthless  in  his  stud,  and,  enveloping  it  in  the  sail  covering, 
enters  the  tsetse  district,  and  surprises  the  elephants  in 
their    fancied    security.     The    horses  sometimes  escape 
through  the  aid  of  the  covering,  and  the  care  that  tlie 
hunter  takes  never  to  loiter  until  he  emerges  again  from 
the  infested  region.     Hunting  elephants  on  foot  is  also 
occasionally  practised  in  the  tsetse  districts.     Although 
the  tsetse  was  within  two  days'  journey  on  foot  from  the 
station  where  I  afterwards  resided  for  years,  no  accident 
ever  happened,  except  on  one  occasion,  when  a  troop  of 
cattle,  having 'strayed  from  their  post,  entered  the  CeUsI 
district  before  their  loitering  herds  came  up  to  them,  and 
of  course  all  died. 

Boating  on  the  Zouga  was  a  very  pleasant  mode  of 
locomotion  when  compared  with  the  jolting  ox-waggon. 
The  river  was  deep,  and  as  placid  as  a  lake.  One  conld 
hardly  tell  in  what  direction  the  water  was  flowing.  The 
crocodile  sank  heavily  into  the  water  before  our  i^proaching 
boat.  The  Makoba  seemed  to  know  their  way  throng 
the  tall  reeds  as  the  Bushmen  knew  to  thread  the  sandy 
wastes.  When  passing  one  evening  in  a  canoe  the  place 
where  the  Tamalakan  flows  into  the  Zouga,  I  could  not 


RETURN  JOURNEY.  207 

help  thinkmg  how  easity  the  evangelist  could  move  from 
place  to  place  in  such  a  conveyance,  and  how  far  he  could 
go  in  nearly  all  directions  along  the  vast  river  system  of 
the  interior. 

We  passed  several  villages  of  the  Makoba,  the  blackest 

people  I  had  yet  seen,  with  large  eyes,  abundance  of  woolly 

hair,  and  bodies  strongly  built  and  well-proportioned.     The 

men  had  usually  beard  and  whiskers,  which,  however,  they' 

kept  closely  cropped.     Their  language  belongs  to  the  Bantu 

family.     The  Makoba  are  vassals,  like  the  Bakalahari  and 

Boshmen.     Like  them  also  they  submit  to  whomsoever  is 

actual  ruler  of  the  coimtry  at  the  time.     The  Makololo 

on  the  Zambese,  and  the  Bechuanas  on  the  Ngami  and 

Zouga,  exercised  a  severe  sway  over  these  subject  people. 

While    Mr.   Price  was  at  Linyanti,    he  was  aware  of 

more  than  one  instance  in  which  a  vassal,  having  given 

offence,   was  sunmiarily  speared  by  his  master,  no  one 

taking  any  notice   of  the   ''dog*'   whose  life  had  been 

thus   thoughtlessly  ended.     While  Lechulatebe's   people 

were  perhaps  a  little  more  merciful  as  to  taking  away 

life,  his  laws  were   veiy  stringent.     The  banks  of  the 

river  are    covered    with  game-pits,   which   every  night 

secure  numbers  of  game.     But  only  the  inside  of  the 

animals  may  be  eaten  by  the  vassals ;  the  breast  is  for  the 

chief;  the  rest  of  the  meat  for  the  ''head-man"  who  is 

master  of  the  serfs.     Every  man  of  consideration  at  the 

Lake  has  Makoba  vassals,  and  some  have  both  Bushmen 

and  Makoba.     The  former  hunt  in  the  distant  wilderness ; 

the  latter  busy  themselves  with  game-pits  by  the  river 

bank ;  the  produce  of  the  labour  of  both  being  for  their 

li^  lords.     The  master  amuses  himself  as  he  pleases ; 

sometimes  hunting  with  his  Bushmen,  on  other  occasions 

living  .with  the  Makoba  in  their  village,  which  is  his,  and 

embarking  in  their  canoe,  which  is  also  his.     The  follow- 


^08  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

ing  anecdote  will  show  whether  or  not  the  Makolm  are 
quite  content  with  this  state  of  vassalage.  I  had  been  in 
the  water,  and  while  sitting  on  the  river  bank  afterwards, 
one  of  the  Makoba,  my  only  companion,  firstcarefnlly  ex- 
amined my  foot,  remarking  its  whiteness  as  compared  with 
my  face.  He  then  took  up  my  socks,  put  his  hands  into 
them,  and  examined  the  knitting.  The  boots  were  next 
inspected.  Where  was  the  sewing  t  He  then  placed  my 
shoe  alongside  his  very  large  foot  and  clumsy  sandal,  and 
then,  first  looking  round  on  all  sides  to  see  if  we  were  alone» 
to  my  amazement  broke  out,  ^'  Ehosi  (chief) !  you  white 
people  ought  to  come  in  here  and  fight  with  these  Be- 
chuanas,  and  overcome  them ;  they  give  us  no  rest,  we  are 
never  done  serving  them."  Glancing  again  at  the  wonder- 
ful socks  and  boots,  he  went  on,  ^  Now,  you  white  people 
have  wisdom ;  you  have  something  to  give  those  who  are 
your  vassals.  Your  servants  are  dressed  with  ^likhai' 
(cloths),  and  you  have  no  end  of  beautiful  things  in  your 
waggons.  Ck>me  in  and  conquer  the  Bechuanas,  and  the 
Makobas  will  be  glad  to  be  your  servants ! "  Even  this 
fisherman  on  the  Zouga  wished  to  dispose  of  his  fish  in 
the  best  market !  He  would  not  fight  with  the  present 
owners  of  the  country,  but  he  considered  it  would  be  gready 
to  his  advantage  if  the  white  people  fought  with  them  and 
took  the  country  and  all  its  belongings  into  their  own 
possession. 

On  another  occasion  I  observed  a  number  of  Makoba 
running  alongside  the  waggon,  and  apparently  explaining 
the  action  of  the  wheels  to  one  of  their  number.  They 
informed  me  that  the  man  in  question  had  come  from  a 
distance,  and  that  this  was  the  first  time  he  had  seen  a 
waggon.  As  I  noticed  the  interest  with  which  he  kept  up 
with  the  waggon  for  a  considerable  distance,  I  was  re- 
minded of  the  Scotchman  who,  when  he  first  saw  a  four- 


KETURN  JOURNEY.  209 

wheeled  carriage,  after  protracted  observation,  applauded 
the  front  wheel  as  the  winner  of  a  race,  exclaiming,  "  Weel 
dune,  little  wheelie ;  aye  first  yet ! " 

Besides  the  ^  perquisites "  of  the  game-pits  and  the  un- 
failing supplies  of  fish  from  the  river,  the  Makoba  obtain 
laige  quantities  of  food  from  the  gardens  which  they  culti- 
vate along  its  banks.  But  although  they  are  better  sup- 
plied with  food  than  any  other  tribe  in  the  country,  I 
cannot  report  favourably  as  to  their  honesty.  In  fact, 
more  determined  pilferers  are  not  to  be  met  with  any- 
where. We  had  nowhere  to  watch  our  cups,  spoons,  etc., 
with  such  care  as  among  the  Makoba.  One  day  a  little 
bag  of  lice  was  placed  on  the  ground  by  the  servant,  while 
she  went  with  a  cupful  to  be  cooked.  When  she  came 
back  the  bag  was  gone ! 

Without  any  hesitation,  the  Makoba,  in  answer  to  my 
inquiry,  expressed  their  belief  in  a  state  of  being  after 
death.  They  seemed  to  have  the  notion  that  all  disem- 
bodied spirits,  at  least  of  the  Makoba,  proceeded  westward. 
But  I  could  not  find  that  they  had  any  clear  ideas  about 
future  rewards  or  punishments  in  connection  with  the  pre^ 
sent  life.  It  is  not  improbable  that  their  idea  about  going 
^towards  the  setting  sun"  after  death  has  reference  to 
joining  their  ancestors.  The  same  people  told  me  that 
they  had  formerly  lived  to  the  north-west. 

On  the  18th  of  September  we  reached  the  town  of 
Lechulatebe,  chief  of  the  Batowana,  a  division  of  the  Ba- 
mangwato  tribe.  It  was  then  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
Zouga,  and  not  far  from  Lake  Ngami,  or  Nghabi,  as  the 
Batowana  call  it  We  drew  up  beside  Mr.  Price's  waggon, 
and  found  little  Lizzie  Helmore  in  good  he^Jth,  but  Willie 
was  very  sickly.  It  was  touching  to  see  the  joy  with 
which  the  two  orphan  children  welcomed  Mr.  Price's  return, 
and  thdr  gladness  when  brought  to  Mrs.  Mackenzie.     For 

0 


210         NOBTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  BIVEB. 

the  next  five  months  we  liyed  together  as  one  £unilyy  and 
it  was  the  daflj  effort  of  my  wife  and  myself  to  cheer  and 
sustain  the  drooping  spirits  of  our  bereaved  companions. 
Lechnlatebe  received  and  deserved  oar  special  thanks  for 
his  kindness  to  the  children  as  well  as  to  Mr.  Price.  Hav- 
ing now  the  means  of  doing  so,  Mr.  Price  made  the  chief  a 
suitable  present,  expressing  at  the  same  time  the  sentiment 
that  he  was  not  i>aying  for  kindness,  or  even  for  hospitality, 
— ^he  would  ghidly  accept  of  these  as  gifts.  But  now,  God 
having  sent  him  assistance,  he  did  not  wish  that  his  friend 
should  be  left  without  some  remembrancer  of  the  missicmsiy 
whom  he  had  so  kindly  succoured.  We  now  endeavooied 
to  purchase  fresh  oxen  for  Mr.  Price's  waggon.  We  wefe 
willing  to  sell  anything  we  possessed,  but  of  course  offered 
those  things  which  we  could  best  spare.  Knowing  the 
taste  of  his  host,  Mr.  Price  had  directed  me  to  bring  tea, 
coffee,  sugar,  and  flour  belonging  to  himself  and  Mr.  Hd- 
more  as  articles  of  barter ;  and  when  we  arrived  the  chief 
declared  he  would  purchase  nothing  but  ''white  man's 
food."  He  had  been  able  to  keep  up  a  supply  of  these 
articles  from  English  traders,  who  then  occasionally  visited 
him  fixmi  Walvisch  Bay  on  the  west  coast  Had  we  wished 
to  buy  ivoiy,  instead  of  cattle,  we  could  have  transacted  a 
large  business ;  but  we  found  the  Batowana  unwilling  to 
sell  their  oxen.  In  the  course  of  the  week  we  succeeded 
in  purchasing  ten  young  oxen,  which,  with  the  spare  wdB 
in  my  troop,  we  hoped  would  be  su£Scient. 

On  Sunday  the  23d,  we  had  a  public  service  in  Ledm- 
latebe's  kotU,  which  was  well  attended ;  and  our  audience 
included  Lechulatebe  and  all  his  head  men.  I  delivered 
an  address  during  the  public  service ;  and  afterwards  we 
had  a  very  interesting  discussion  with  the  chief  and  his 
head  men. 

*^  What  was  it  which  pleased  you  missionaries  in  Seke- 


RETURN  JOURNEY.  211 

leta  and  the  Makololo,"  asked  Lechulatebe,  ^that  yon 
should  aU  pass  me  by,  leaving  my  town  in  ruins,  while 
yon  went  to  build  np  that  of  Sekeletu  1  I  desire  instruc- 
tion for  myself  and  my  people ;  I  should  persecute  no  one 
for  believing ;  at  any  rate,  I  have  shown  that  I  would  not 
eat  the  missionaries  up  in  my  own  town,  as  Sekeletu  has 
done.'* 

"Who  has  preached  the  gospel  here  before?"  we  asked. 

''The  Griquas  preached  a  little;  Ngake  (Dr.  Living- 
stone) taught  us  during  his  visits ;  and  several  Batlaping 
have  also  preached  in  our  town.  We  retained  their  in- 
structions for  a  little  time  only ;  they  soon  faded  from  our 
memory.  We  should  not  so  soon  forget  were  a  teacher 
Uving  amongst  us." 

The  teeming  population  on  the  rivers,  their  accessibility 
by  boats,  the  attentiveness  of  the  people,  and  the  openly 
expressed  welcome  of  the  chief,  made  a  great  impression 
on  my  ndnd.  Some  time  after,  in  writing  to  the  Directors 
of  the  Society,  I  drew  their  attention  to  this  wide  field  for 
evangelistic  effort  The  only  desideratum  for  the  residence 
of  a  European  missionary  would  be  a  fountain  in  a  high 
locality  at  some  distance  from  the  river.  This  will  be  one 
of  the  largest  and  most  inviting  fields  for  native  teachers 
as  soon  as  they  are  available  for  such  service. 

Mr.  Price  and  I  returned  to  the  waggons,  canvassing 
the  best  way  of  introducing  Christianity  into  this  region, 
when  we  found  that  during  our  absence  my  little  child 
had  been  prostrated  by  fever.  Having  all  necessary 
medicines  with  me,  and  prescriptions  for  the  cure  of  fever 
by  Dr.  Livingstone  and  Dr.  Palgrave,  who  had  passed 
through  the  country  the  year  before,  I  proceeded  with- 
out delay  to  administer  the  proper  remedies.  We  were 
deeply  thankful  to  see  the  desired  results  follow.  But 
this  event  hastened  our  departure  from  the  Lake.    We  had 


2 1 2         NORTH  OF  THE  OBANGK  RIVER. 

projected  a  visit  round  part  of  its  shore ;  bat  instead  of 
that  I  only  saw  it  from  a  distance. 

I  had  one  horse  still  remaining,  and  as  I  knew  Lechn- 
latebe  was  anxious  to  obtain  a  number  of  horses  for  hunt- 
ing, I  offered  him  mine  in  exchange  for  oxen.    But  I  did 
a  very  foolish  thing,  which  quite  prevented  me  from 
accomplishing  my  object.     I  was  aware  that  as  many  as 
ten  and  even  twelve  oxen  were  sometimes  given  by  Lechn- 
latebe  for  a  horse;  but  in  order,  as  I  thought,  to  secure 
a  speedy  sale,  and  remove  all  necessity  for  haggling  about 
the  bargain,  I  offered  my  horse  to  the  chief  for  four  good 
oxen.     Lechulatebe  at  once  took  it  for  granted  that  my 
horse  was  worth  nothing  at  all,  when  I  asked  so  little  for 
it ;  so  he  declined  to  buy  it.     He  sent  his  men  to  find  out 
from  my  servants  the  faults  of  the  horse ;   but  being  told 
it  had  none,  refused  to  believe  them.     Had  I  asked  ten 
oxen,  and  then,  after  a  long  talk,  yielded  a  little,  and 
come    down   to  accept  eight,  I   should    certainly  haye 
obtained  them  for  the  same  horse  for  which  I  could  not 
get  four!     Happily  some  Englishmen  who  now  arrived 
at  the  Lake  from  the  west  coast,  wanted  a  horse,  and  were 
quite  willing  to  give  four  oxen  for  mine.     One  day  I  rode 
over  to  their  encampment,  which  was  beside  a  number  oi 
baobab  trees  on  the  west  of  the  town,  and  called  for  the 
chief  on  my  way.     He  thought  I  had  come  to  exhibit  the 
paces  of  my  horse,  and  began  to  examine  the  animal  with 
the  air  of  an  accomplished  jockey.     I  remarked  that  the 
horse  was  no  longer  for  sale ;  I  was  just  going  to  deliver 
it  to  its  owners,  the  newly-arrived  Englishmen. 

"  What  did  they  give  you  for  it  1" 

"  Four  oxen." 

"  Why  were  you  in  such  a  hurry  1    Don't  you  know 
that  I  sometimes  give  ten  oxen  for  a  horse  if  it  pb 
mer 


KETUBN  JOURNEY.  213 

I  replied  that  I  took  it  for  granted  that  my  horse  did 
not  please  him ;  for  he  never  offered  me  four.  I  left  the 
chief  puzzling  over  two  knotty  points,  arising  out  of  this 
transaction, — ^that  a  man  shotdd  at  once  ask  what  he  wanted 
for  an  article,  and  not  leave  margin  for  ^'coming  down;" 
and  that  I  should  demand  as  much  from  men  of  my  own 
nation  as  from  a  stranger. 

On  another  occasion,  when  purchasing  an  ox  on  the 
Zouga,  I  found  that  the  owner  would  only  take  gunpowder 
in  exchanga  Pointing  to  a  flint  musket,  he  said  it  was  of 
no  more  use  than  a  walking-stick  without  powder.  I  pro- 
duced some  powder  in  one-pound  paper  packages.  He 
viewed  them  with  undisguised  suspicion,  and  after  calling 
his  companions  to  see  them,  informed  me  that  he  would  not 
buy  powder  in  a  paper  package.  He  said  he  knew  the 
powder  which  was  contained  in  bags,  not  in  packages.  As  it 
was  of  consequence  to  secure  the  ox,  I  got  my  wife  hastily 
to  stitch  a  bag  inside  the  waggon  of  the  size  brought  into  the 
interior  by  traders.  Pouring  the  powder  which  had  been 
refused  in  packages  into  the  bag,  I  found  that  the  man's 
difficulties  at  once  were  removed.  This  was  not  only 
powder,  but  powder  in  a  bag ;  so  the  bartering  proceeded, 
and  I  purchased  the  ox. 

Lechulatebe  showed  me  a  waggon  which  had  been  left  in 
his  care  by  Dr.  Holden,  who  had  been  our  fellow-passenger 
to  the  Cape  from  England,  and  who  had  also  travelled  for 
some  time  in  company  with  Messrs.  Helmore  and  Price. 
He  had  gone  from  the  Lake  westward  into  Ovampoland, 
and  his  researches  wotdd  doubtless  have  materially  increased 
our  knowledge  of  a  district  still  comparatively  unexplored. 
I  learned  afterwards  that,  having  pierced  into  an  unhealthy 
and  swampy  region,  this  enterprising  traveller  fell  a  victim 
to  fever.  Thus  science  has  her  martyrs  as  well  as  Chris- 
tianity. 


214  NOKTH  OF  THE  OBANGE  BIVER. 

We  left  the  Lake  on  Wednesday  the  26th  of  September, 
and  after  a  week's  jonmej  reached  Khame's  Ford,  where  I 
had  left  the  three  waggons  under  the  charge  of  Mebalwe. 
Two  oxen  had  fallen  into  game-pits  in  the  neighboorhood, 
owing  to  the  carelessness  of  the  herdsman,  and  both  had 
died  before  they  were  got  out.  A  similar  accident  aft6^ 
wards  happened,  but  by  promptness  the  animal  was  dug 
out  before  it  was  injured.  When  there  is  a  stake  at  the 
bottom  of  the  pit,  there  is  of  course  no  hope  of  saving  the 
animal ;  but  even  when  there  are  no  stakes,  death,  if  not  so 
speedy,  is  nevertheless  sure.  I  have  seen  in  the  momiog 
zebras  and  gnus  quite  dead  in  a  pit  into  which  they  had 
fallen  during  the  night.  They  had  not  been  impaled  by  a 
stake  in  the  bottom  of  the  pit,  but  killed  by  the  wedge-shape 
of  the  pit  itself,  into  which  their  own  weight  and  stmg^Qng 
drove  them  deeper  and  deeper.  The  Makoba  cut  them  up 
in  the  pit,  but  afterwards  carefully  remove  i41  traces  of  their 
work,  and  the  least  speck  of  the  *^  moshwang,"  or  contents 
of  the  stomach,  or  other  matter  which  would  appeal  to  the 
scent  of  the  game,  and  rouse  their  suspicions.  There  is 
considerable  skill  shown  in  placing  these  pits,  and  in  ''laying 
out "  the  path  in  the  neighbourhood.  Without  raising  any 
obstruction  so  as  to  excite  suspicion,  a  branch  is  placed  to 
oppose  progress  in  one  direction— the  decaying  trunk  of  a 
tree  is  used  for  the  same  purpose  elsewhere  :  so  that  the 
game,  having  choice  of  several  paths,  will  find  it  easier  and 
pleasanter  to  take  the  one  on  which  the  pit  is  placed.  If 
these  branches  were  put  down  suspiciously  dose,  so  as  to 
take  away  the  power  of  choice  from  the  game,  and  to  hedge 
them  in,  they  would  at  once  turn  round  and  seek  another 
path. 

My  men  informed  me  with  some  pride  that  they  had 
shot  six  buffaloes  during  my  absence.  Before  leaving  I 
had  supplied  them  with  some  native  com,  and  also  coffee ; 


RETUEN  JOURNEY.  215 

bat  for  meat  I  left  them  guns  and  powder  and  lead.  I  was 
pleased  to  find  that  they  had  turned  these  things  to  good 
account.  To  kill  an  elephant,  a  rhinoceros,  or  a  buffalo,  is 
the  greatest  honour  to  which  a  Bechuana  man  can  aspire  in 
the  chase.  He  who  has  accomplished  this  thinks  he  need 
not  be  silent  in  any  company.  There  is  no  end  to  the  tales 
of  wounded  animals  which  a  young  and  inexperienceid 
native  huntsman  brings  home  in  the  evening.  According 
to  his  own  statement  he  breaks  the  leg  of  one  animal, 
wounds  another  in  the  ribs,  and  a  third  in  the  flank ;  but 
the  shot  is  always  a  little  too  high  or  too  low.  But  when 
at  length  he  is  successful,  he  cuts  off  the  brush  of  the 
animal  as  the  ^  cupo  "  or  trophy.  He  walks  unconcernedly 
up  to  the  camp,  the  tail  waving  conspicuously  from  the 
the  stock  of  his  gun  if  he  is  walking,  or  from  his  saddle  if 
mounted.  The  sharp  eyes  of  his  friends  soon  discover 
the  cause  of  his  affected  indifference,  and  some  older  man 
will  say,  "  Comrades,  to-day  he  has  killed ;  he  has  shown 
himself  a  man ;  we  are  no  longer  asked  to  believe  lies  about 
wounded  animals;  the  'mogatla'  (tail)  never  deceives." 
The  rest  of  the  party  now  ask  for  an  account  of  the  ex- 
ploit, when  the  silence  of  the  hero  comes  to  an  end,  and  he 
gives  an  animated  and  heightened  description  of  what  has 
taken  place. 

I  had  now  fulfilled  one  object  of  my  journey,  although 
under  circumstances  widely  different  from  what  I  had 
anticipated.  I  had  assisted  the  only  surviving  member  of 
the  Makololo  mission  with  those  supplies  which  I  had 
brou^t  from  the  south.  But  what  of  the  mission  itself  1 
And  what  of  my  own  future  course  1  I  found  that  Mr. 
Price  and  Dr.  Livingstone  held  opposite  views  as  to  the 
willingness  of  the  Makololo  to  remove  to  the  north  of  the 
Zambese.  We  had  left  England  on  the  recommendation 
of  Dr.  Livingstone,  and  on  the  supposition  that  they  wotdd 


216  NORTH  OF  THE  OBANGE  BIVER. 

leave  Linyanti ;  Imt  Mr.  Price  had  no  hesitation  in  affirm- 
ing, not  only  that  they  were  unwilling  to  remove,  bat  that, 
80  £Etr  as  he  could  gather,  they  never  intended  to  do  so. 
While  I  did  not  believe  that  Sekeletu  had  poisoned  those 
who  died,  no  one  could  gainsay  the  het  that  he  had  treated 
Mr.  Price  in  the  most  cruel  and  inhospitable  manner, 
robbing  him  and  the  little  children  of  almost  everything 
they  possessed.     Was  I  then  to  go  forward  to  Linyanti 
after  what  had  taken  place  1    It  seemed  absurd  to  do  so, 
until  at  least  the  Directors  of  the  Society  under  iHioee 
auspices  we  had  come  to  the  country  had  had  an  oppor- 
tunity of  considering  the  whole  matter.     But  it  was  not 
without  reluctance  that  I  came  to  this  decision.     One  does 
not  feel  satisfied  in  turning  back  without  seeing  and  judg- 
ing for  one's-sel£     I  had  a  long  conversation  with  old  Me- 
balwe  before  making  up  my  mind.     He  assured  me  there 
was  not  a  man  in  the  party  who  would  accompany  me  to 
the  Makololo  after  the  accoimts  they  had  received  from 
Mr.  Helmore  and  Mr.  Price's  men.     It  was  thus  plainly 
enough  my  duty  to  return  with  Mr.  Price  to  Kuruman, 
and  there  wait  fresh  instructions  from  the  Directors  in 
London. 

Leaving  Khame's  Ford  about  the  middle  of  October,  we 
proceeded  slowly  southward  along  the  west  bank  of  the 
Zouga. 

The  whole  course  of  this  river  on  both  banks  is  infested 
with  lions.  Where  the  water  was  approached  by  a  gently 
sloping  bank,  and  therefore  fi*equented  as  a  drinking-plsoe 
by  the  game,  I  have  seen  so  many  tracks  of  lions  that  I  do 
not  believe  one  could  have  taken  a  step  in  any  direction 
without  lighting  on  or  passing  over  a  lion  '^  spoor."  Bat 
in  such  districts  they  seldom  interfere  with  the  passing 
traveller.  We  spent  a  night  close  to  a  drinking-place 
such  as  I  have  described,  and  our  encampment  was  on- 


KETURN  JOURNEY.  217 

distarbed.  I  need  hardly  say  that  we  did  not  select  such 
a  spot  as  the  most  suitable  for  a  night's  bivouac ;  we  were 
compelled  to  halt  here  on  account  of  an  accident  which 
happened  to  one  of  the  waggons.  Its  driver  had  forgot  to 
replace  the  linch-pin  of  one  of  the  wheels  after  greasing 
the  axle-tree ;  and  the  wheel  keeping  its  place  for  miles, 
roQed  off  at  this  spot,  when  the  waggon  fell  down  and  the 
axle-tree  was  broken.  A  piece  of  wood  partially  dressed, 
and  kept  by  me  in  reserve  for  such  an  accident,  was 
soon  prepared  and  inserted,  and  next  day  we  resumed  our 
journey. 

One  of  my  men  caught  fever  on  the  Zouga.  He  had  come 
into  my  employment  lean  and  hungry-looking,  but  in  spite  of 
the  hardships  of  the  journey  had  gradually  swelled  out ;  and 
after  my  return  from  the  Lake  I  noticed  that  he  was  exceed- 
ingly stout,  and  very  slow  in  his  movements  when  doing  his 
work*  He  had  now  a  severe  attack  of  African  fever,  and 
for  some  time  seemed  to  be  proof  against  the  strongest 
medicines.  I  am  sure  that  he  must  have  had  five  or  six 
ordinary  doses  before  the  slightest  effect  was  produced. 
He  lay  in  a  dull  lethargic  state,  the  disease  seeming  to  find 
in  his  gross  system  its  most  appropriate  food.  An  impres- 
sion once  made,  however,  by  the  medicine,  the  fever  was 
effectually  checked,  and  after  the  lapse  of  some  days  the 
man  was  again  at  his  place  at  the  fire-side,  distinguishing 
himself  as  formerly  by  his  attention  to  the  flesh-pot. 
This  was  the  only  case  of  fever  among  the  men.  The 
disease  hung  about  our  little  child  during  the  whole  time 
we  were  on  the  Zouga.  But  as  soon  as  we  emerged  from 
the  dense  foliage  of  the  Lake  river,  and  proceeded  into  the 
open  plains  of  the  Bushman  country,  a  complete  change 
took  place  in  his  health  and  spirits.  The  face  which  had 
become  pale  when  not  flushed  with  fever,  regained  its  own 
healthy  appearatice ;  the  eye  which  had  been  dull  and  list- 


218  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

lesB  became  dear  and  bright ;  and  the  child  who  along  the 
riyer  sat  wearily  beside  its  mother,  devoid  of  en&gy  and 
spirit,  was  now  once  more  full  of  vivacity.  What  the 
utmost  solidtade  and  attention  coold  not  accomplish  in  ibe 
hnmid  atmosphere  of  the  Zongm  was  effected  without  the 
aid  of  medicine  by  the  pure  air  of  the  desert 

A  marked  improvement  also  took  place  in  the  healtii  of 
Mr.  Price  and  the  children  of  Mr.  Hehnore  as  we  joainejed 
southward. 

I  found  it  difficult  to  manage  the  men  who  had  formed 
part  of  the  expedition  to  Linyanti,  a  task  which  I  readOj 
undertook  at  Mr.  Price's  request.  They  were  thorou^y 
soured  and  disappointed.  They  had  expected  pleasant 
times  among  the  Makololo,  and  periu^  dreamt  ci  en- 
riching themselves,  instead  of  which  they  had  baielj 
escaped  with  their  lives.  One  man  who  was  suspected  of 
joining  in  Mahuse's  evil  counsels  at  linyanti  received  the 
appointment  of  goat-herd  under  my  dispensation.  He  was 
accustomed  to  walk  about  with  the  air  of  a  man  who  had 
a  grievance,  and  as  a  matter  of  course  left  his  goats  and 
sheep  to  look  after  themselves.  He  would  answer  a  com- 
mand from  ten  to  twenty  minutes  aftier  it  was  given,  and 
seldom  obeyed  without  growling  and  swearing  at  all  and 
sundry.  Then  my  own  men  were  disappointed  also.  Thej 
had  looked  forward  to  an  opportunity  for  trading  with  die 
Makololo,  and  hunting  elephants  on  their  way  home. 
Grumbling  being  an  infectious  complaint,  the  presence  of 
such  a  fellow  as  our  sweet-tempered  goat-herd  was  enooj^ 
to  poison  the  best  party  of  men.  As  each  person  became 
less  diligent  more  fell  upon  him  who  had  the  charge  of  all; 
and  I  found  it  a  veiy  different  thing  to  journey  south  widi 
men  in  this  temper  from  what  it  was  to  travel  north,  eveiy 
mind  animated  with  hope.  Furu  no  longer  herded  the 
cattle  at  night  as  before,  and  neither  he  nor  his  master 


RETURN  JOURNEY.  219 

Galiboi  seemed  to  care  when  I  said  that  if  he  did  not  per- 
form the  extra  work  he  could  not  get  the  extra  pay  which  I 
had  promised.  I  had  therefore  to  tell  off  a  man  to  do  this 
work,  and  to  see  that  it  was  done.  One  night,  when  half- 
way between  Lotlakane  and  Nkowane  on  our  way  south, 
the  oxen  strayed  in  the  night,  and  were  found  next  day  at 
noon  far  on  their  way  back  to  the  "i^ater.  It  was  late  in 
the  day  before  they  were  brought  again  to  the  waggons, 
and  the  poor  creatures  were  exhausted  with  their  bootless 
journey.  We  had  fortunately  plenty  of  water  for  our  own 
use.  While  waiting  for  the  cattle  to  come  back,  and  feel- 
ing aU  the  chagrin  and  disappointment  which  my  circimi- 
stances  were  calculated  to  produce,  I  OTerheard  a  conversa- 
tion between  Mr.  Helmore's  two  children  which  affected 
me  deeply. 

Little  Willie  remarked  to  his  sister  that  he  was  yeiy 
thirsty.  Was  the  water  all  done  ?  His  sister,  who  was 
older  than  he,  answered  that  "  he  must  be  a  good  boy, 
and  not  ask  for  water.  The  oxen  had  gone  astray.  Did 
he  not  remember  how  they  had  been  thirsty  long  ago, 
when  mamma  was  still  living  1  They  must  not  ask  for 
water."  The  poor  little  fellow  had  nothing  more  to  say, 
but  lay  still,  not  veiy  thirsty,  but  very  unhappy.  In  a 
little  I  called  him  to  me,  and,  without  appearing  to  have 
heard  their  conversation,  poured  out  a  large  cup  of  water, 
and  gave  him  to  drink.  I  assured  him  that  there  was 
abundance  of  water,  and  that  as  soon  as  he  felt  even  a  little 
thirsty  he  must  come  again,  and  I  should  give  him  a  large 
drink.  I  observed  that  he  drank  only  a  little,  and 
the  idea  of  danger  or  uncertainty  once  driven  from  his 
youthful  mind,  he  played  in  the  shade  of  the  waggons 
as  usual,  and  I  heard  no  more  of  thirst  Of  course  this 
was  easy  where  there  were  not  many  children.  But  I 
cannot  fancy  a  more  trying  position  than  to  have  charge  of 


220         NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

a  number  of  little  children  in  the  desert  where  the  supply 
of  water  is  short. 

We  reached  Shoshong  on  the  Ist  of  December,  where  we 
remained  for  two  months,  experiencing  much  kindness  and 
hospitality  from  Mr.  Schulenborg  of  the  Hermannsboig 
Society,  who  was  at  that  time  labouring  as  a  missionaiy 
among  the  Bamangwato.  A  week  after  leaving  Shoshong 
we  were  agreeably  surprised  to  meet  our  veteran  friend  Mr. 
Moffat,  who  was,  as  he  explained  to  us,  on  his  way  to 
search  for  us,  and  to  bring  us  relief.  The  news  of  the 
calamity  at  Linyanti  had  reached  Kuruman,  through  Joseph 
Arend,  the  native  hunter,  who  had  visited  the  Yictoiia 
Falls.  Mr.  Moffat  informed  us  that  having  communicated 
the  sad  intelligence  to  friends  in  Gape  Town,  a  public  sub- 
scription had  been  there  set  on  foot  to  send  relief  to  tiie 
surviving  members  of  a  mission,  all  the  members  of  which  had 
but  a  short  time  before  left  that  town  in  good  health  and 
spirits.  Mr.  Moffat,  whose  Kuruman  home  since  1855  was, 
in  his  own  words,  ^  more  like  the  lodge  of  a  way&ring  man 
than  a  permanent  abode,"  had  cheerfully  volunteered  to  act 
as  agent  for  those  kind  Christian  friends  at  the  Gape;  and 
thus  the  pleasure  of  meeting  him  was  enhanced  by  the 
consideration  that  he  was  on  this  occasion,  in  a  peculiar 
sense,  the  "messenger  of  the  churches."  We  were  much 
gratified  to  learn  that  the  expedition  which  now  met  ns 
represented  the  Christian  sympathy  of  all  the  chnrdies 
at  the  Cape, — thus  teaching  us  that  whatever  apparent 
schisms  or  divisions  there  might  be  in  the  Church  of  Christ, 
"  all  had  been  baptized  by  one  Spirit  into  one  body,"  and 
thus  "  whether  one  member  suffer,  all  the  members  safer 
with  it."  I  may  add,  that  with  that  clannish  feeling  which 
is  characteristic  of  my  country,  I  was  particularly  pleased 
to  find  among  the  contributors  the  name  of  Bishop  Mac- 
kenzie of  the  English  Universities  Zambese  Mission.    Alas 


BETURN  JOURNEY.  221 

that  in  the  death  of  this  admirable  Christian  bishop  the 
churches  should  have  been  called  upon  so  soon  after  to 
mourn  a  calamity  similar  to  that  at  Linyantil  Deeply 
grateful  for  the  assistance  which  Mr.  Moffat  now  proffered, 
I  was  still  more  thankful  to  be  able  to  say  that  I  stood  in 
need  of  nothing,  and  to  allay  the  solicitude  of  our  dear 
Mend  by  assuring  him  that  no  one  travelling  in  our  com- 
pany had  ever  endured  a  da3r's  hunger  or  thirst. 

We  again  reached  Kuruman  on  the  14th  of  February, 
exactly  one  year  after  the  entry  of  Messrs.  Helmore  and 
Price  into  linyanti  My  own  journey  had  extended  over 
nine  months,  and  I  was  glad  when  I  had  paid  off  the  men, 
returned  the  hired  waggons,  with  whose  *'  weak  places  "  I 
was  now  painfully  £Eaniliar,  and  once  more  entered  a 
Christian  home  under  the  hospitable  roof  of  Mr.  Ashton. 

Some  weeks  after  our  return  to  Kuruman,  my  wife,  who 
had  enjoyed  veiy  good  health  while  in  the  interior,  was 
prostrated  by  a  severe  attack  of  fever.  It  was  of  a  type 
unusual  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kuruman ;  and  similar 
to  what  I  was  afterwards  familiar  with  in  the  district  of 
Shoshong.  After  reducing  her  veiy  much,  it  assumed  an 
intermittent  form;  and  nothing  which  Mr.  Moffat  or 
Mr.  Ashton  could  assist  me  in  prescribing  was  effective  in 
dislodging  it  from  the  system.  Quinine,  which  is  of  great 
service  in  warding  off  recurrent  attacks,  became  so  distaste- 
ful that  it  instantly  acted  as  an  emetic  Given  in  the 
form  of  pills;  covered  or  disguised  in  any  way,  the  result 
was  the  same.  I  had  not  then  met  with  a  most  useful 
preparation  of  quinine  for  South  African  fever,  and  one 
which  the  system  does  not  reject — the  citrate  of  iron  and 
quinine.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Mrs.  Livingstone, 
before  her  death  from  fever  at  Shupanga  on  the 
Zambese,  was  affected  by  quinine  in  the  same  way  as  Mrs. 
Mackenrie. 


222         NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

This  fever,  in  its  most  malignant  form,  is  closely  allied 
to  that  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa.  The  bodies  of  Dutch- 
men who  died  of  it  in  the  hunting-grounds  near  to  the 
Zambese  changed  to  a  darkish  yellow  colour  before  death. 
In  such  severe  cases  the  stupor  comes  on  very  soon,  and 
death  follows  in  a  few  days.  Probably  change  of  air 
would  always  be  necessary  to  the  complete  cure  of  this 
type  of  the  disease. 

One  year  an  elephant  hunting-party  ventured  too  early 
into  a  low-lying  and  swampy  district  in  Mashona-land. 
The  country  abounded  with  elephants,  and  they  were  loath 
to  give  up  the  hunt  and  to  remove  for  the  sake  of  thor 
health.  They  thought  the  winter,  which  was  at  hand, 
would  itself  restore  their  vigour ;  so  they  loitered  in  the 
deadly  region,  hunting  one  day,  and  confined  to  their 
waggons  the  next  When  at  length  it  became  apparent, 
even  to  their  unwilling  minds,  that  they  must  remove  to  a 
more  elevated  r^on,  it  was  too  late.  The  disease  had 
gained  the  mastery.  They  reached  a  healthier  region 
only  to  die.  Five  grown-up  people  and  one  child  were 
thus  swept  off  within  twenty-four  hours  of  one  another. 

I  have  also  observed  several  instances  in  which  the  saS&&[ 
from  fever  has  had  acute  muscular  pain,  like  Tabe  the  native 
teacher;  the  other  symptoms  being  those  of  an  ordinaiy 
attack.  The  fever  which  usually  prevails  in  Bechnana-land 
comes  on  with  headache,  disinclination  to  exertion,  even 
to  change  your  position.  The  pulse  quickens,  the  &oe 
flushes ;  the  eyes  are  heavy  and  incapable  of  bearing  li^; 
the  lips  and  mouth  are  very  parched,  and  the  whole  body 
is  dry  and  hot  If  the  fever  is  allowed  to  run  its  ooazse 
without  the  interference  of  medicine,  delirium  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent  supervenes.  The  mind  wanders,  reoJling 
past  scenes  with  remarkable  distinctness.  The  peadwr 
delivers  part  of  a  sermon,  or  sings  some  favourite  hymn ; 


RETURN  JOURNEY.  223 

the  trader  talks  of  beads  and  ivoiy  and  ostrich-feathers ; 
the  hunter  is  in  difficulties  among  elephants,  which  he  is 
shooting  in  his  dreams.  At  this  stage  the  invalid  experi- 
ences almost  a  duality  of  being.  With  an  effort  he  listens 
to  the  question  which  is  put  to  him  by  friend  or  attendant, 
and  answers  it ;  but  all  the  while  a  phantasmagoria  sur- 
rounds him,  which  is  seen  only  by  himself.  In  some 
cases,  from  constitutional  and  at  times  accidental  causes, 
while  the  patient  has  the  same  rapid  pulse,  and  the  same 
dry  skin  and  parched  mouth  and  throat, — ^instead  of  com- 
plaining of  heat  and  unconsciously  pulling  off  all  covering 
from  his  body  to  get  relief,  he  lies  shivering  and  his  teeth 
chattering  under  the  warmest  blankets.  In  both  cases 
this  hurry  and  excitement  of  the  system  ends  in  a  state  of 
profrise  .perspiration  and  great  exhaustion.  The  head, 
however,  is  now  again  clear,  and  the  patient  declares  he  is 
well  again.  But  in  three  or  four  days  the  same  symptoms 
may  again  appear — leaving  the  man  weaker  after  eveiy 
attack,  until  at  length  he  sinks  into  a  state  of  insensibility, 
which  gives  place  to  death. 

Fever  is  unknown  in  winter  in  Bechuana-land.  In 
the  middle  of  summer,  after  the  rains  have  fallen,  it 
is  not  common.  It  is  in  spring,  before  the  rains  come, 
and  in  autumn,  when  the  moisture  is  drying  up,  and 
v^etation  is  ripening  and  decaying,  that  we  find  the 
greatest  number  of  fever  cases,  and,  indeed,  the  greatest 
amount  of  sickness  generally.  What  would  be  a  bilious 
attack  in  a  healthy  season  of  the  year,  often  resolves 
iteelf  into  fever  in  spring  or  autumn.  The  huntsman  or 
traveller  is  tempted  to  remain  without  any  additional 
covering,  in  the  chill  evening  air,  the  little  clothing  he 
has  on  being  damp  with  perspiration.  In  winter  this 
mi^t  not  produce  any  appreciable  evil  consequences,  or  at 
most  what  is  called  a  common  cold ;  but  in  the  unhealthy 


224  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

seasons  such  exposure  often  leads  to  fever.  If  then  a  man 
avoids  what  woidd  give  him  a  cold  or  a  bilious  attack,  he 
IB  taking  the  best  means  of  averting  the  fever  of  Bechuana- 
land.  Quinine  is  a  most  efficacious  curative;  it  would 
seem  sometimes  to  fail  as  a  preventive.  Where  it  has 
been  much  used  to  ward  off  the  disease^  it  is  of  conne 
necessary  to  give  larger  doses  as  a  curative.  The  first 
prescription  which  I  tried  began  with  a  purgative ;  then  a 
sudorific;  and  lastly  tonics.  But  I  soon  gave  it  up  for 
Dr.  Livingstone's  plan,  which  dispenses  with  the  second 
dose  entirely,  and  combines  the  third  with 'the  first 
Although  it  would  only  increase  fever  to  administer 
quinine  alone  at  the  outset,  Dr.  Livingstone  found  that  it 
might  be  safely  given  along  with  the  purgative.  Its 
presence  with  the  other  medicines  affects  the  system  in  a 
way  which  the  simple  purgative  does  not  accomplish 
Profuse  perspiration  usually  accompanies  «the  action  of  this 
medicine  upon  the  bowels,  and  thus  the  sudorific  is 
unnecessary.  There  is  indeed  no  doubt  that  Livingstone's 
prescription  is  a  specific  for  AMcan  fever  as  it  is  fbnnd 
between  the  Orange  and  Zambese  rivers.  As  a  mission- 
ary, I  have  had  every  year  several  cases  under  my  care, 
and  with  God's  blessing,  in  every  instance  a  cure  was 
effected  by  means  of  this  remedy.  The  cure  is  indeed 
a  somewhat  rough  one.  I  believe  Bishop  Mackenzie 
remarked  that  it  was  ''  worse  than  the  disease."  But  it  is 
not  so.  The  system  is  in  such  a  state  that  Livingstone's 
prescription  produces  no  injurious  result.  I  have  met 
with  several  people  who  thought  a  more  tender  treatment 
would  suffice.  In  every  instance  they  have  been  glad  in 
the  end  to  take  the  ^  big  dose.'*  I  have  tried  to  substi* 
tute  an  emetic  for  Livingstone's  prescription,  and  thus  to 
prepare  the  system  for  quinine.  It  never  produced  the 
desired  result.     But  as  the  European  population  increases 


BETURN  JOURNEY.  225 

in  the  country,  and  nnmbers  of  qualified  medical  men 
settle  in  it,  a  more  elegant  cure  for  this  dangerous  disease 
will  no  doubt  be  found  out.  I  have  heard  ardent  believers 
in  homoeopathy  declare  that  they  could  cure  African  fever 
very  speedily  with  their  pleasant  little  doses.  I  can  only 
invite  them  to  try;  and  I  sincerely  hope  they  may 
sacceed. 

Fairly  baffled  in  our  attempts  to  cure  Mrs.  Mackenzie, 
and  remembering  the  beneficial  effect  of  change  of  air  on 
our  little  child,  we  resolved  to  try  its  effect  upon  his 
mother.  And  in  order,  at  the  same  time,  to  secure 
the  advice  of  medical  men,  we  resolved  to  journey  towards 
the  Cape  Colony.  But  before  we  had  been  gone  a  week 
a  marked  change  for  the  better  was  observable  in  Mrs. 
Mackenzie's  health,  and  my  joy  in  her  convalescence 
was  shared  by  Miss  Moffat,  who  had  very  kindly  accom- 
panied us,  and  by  Mr.  Price,  who  was  then  on  his  way  to 
the  Colony  with  Mr.  Helmore's  little  children.  After  our 
departure  from  Euruman,  instead  of  recurring  with  the 
regularity  of  tertian  ague,  the  fever  retifmed  only  twice, 
at  long  intervals,  and  then  left  her  entirely.  It  being 
unnecessary  to  go  into  the  Colony,  we  renewed  our  friend- 
ships in  Philippolis  and  Fauresmith,  and  returned  to 
Kumman,  with  my  dear  wife's  health  fully  restored.  At 
Fauresmith  I  was  gratified  with  the  assurance  which  I 
received  from  friends  that  during  our  absence  in  the  in- 
terior the  prayers  of  Christian  people  there  had  been  ascend- 
ing on  our  behalf;  and  I  was  informed  that  some  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Fauresmith  were  about  to  equip  an  expedi- 
tion from  their  little  town  to  search  for  us  in  the  interior, 
when  they  learned  that  the  matter  had  been  taken  up  in 
Cape  Town.  It  was  pleasant  to  think  that  when  isolated 
from  Christian  friends  such  true  sympathy  and  prayers 
followed  us, 

P 


CHAPTER  XIT. 

THE  LAST  OF  THE  MAKOLOLO. 

In  giving  the  Directors  of  the  Society  an  account  of  m  j 
journey  into  the  interior^  I  Expressed  the  opinion  that  if 
they  intended  to  persevere  in  introducing  Christianity 
into  the  Zambese  countiy,  operations  could  be  best  carried 
on  from  the  east  coast;  and  offered  to  proceed  thither 
with  that  object  in  view.  If^  however,  the  Society  in- 
tended to  work  the  Zambese  district  from  the  south,  and 
in  connection  with  missions  already  established,  it  was 
evident  that  there  must  be  a  chain  of  intervening  station& 
To  go  from  Kuruman  to  the  Zambese  countiy  at  one  bound 
was  to  separate  the  advance  guard  too  far  from  the  main 
body,  and  was  sure  to  lead  to  disaster.  This  view  of  the 
case  had  also  been  pre  ssed  upon  their  attention  by  the  other 
missionaries  when  on  their  way  into  the  interior.  At 
this  time  liberty  had  been  given  to  resume  the  work  of 
evangelizing  Madagascar;  and  in  case  there  should  be  any 
lack  of  men  to  take  advantage  of  the  opening,  I  men- 
tioned to  the  Directors  my  willingness  to  undertake  work 
in  that  island,  and,  in  short,  placed  myself  entirely  in  their 
hands. 

While  waiting  their  decision,  I  itinerated  in  the  towns 
and  villages  of  South  Bechuana-land,  and  also  made  two 
additions  to  the  Sechuana  literature,  in  the  compilation  of 
a  little  book  on  geography,  and  in  the  translation  of  the 
well-known  work  by  the  Rev.  Newman  Hall,  Come  to  Jesus, 
I  suggested  to  native  teachers  that  along  with  their  own 
discourses  (which  were  not  always  to   the  point)  they 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  MAKOLOLO.         227 

should  occasionally  read  to  their  people  one  of  the  short 
addresses  given  in  that  volume. 

The  Directors  of  the  Society  would  seem  to  have  been 
somewhat  at  a  loss  to  know  how  to  dispose  of  Mr.  Price 
and  myself.  I  was  kept  more  than  a  year  in  suspense. 
At  length,  in  May  1862,  I  received  an  appointment  to 
Shoshong,  the  town  of  the  Bamangwato.  Dr.  Livingstone 
was  the  first  missionary  who  preached  to  the  Bamangwato. 
His  first  visit  to  them  was  in  1842,  that  of  Mr.  Moffat  in 
1855.  The  importance  of  the  place  as  a  station  was 
pointed  out  by  the  latter  missionary ;  and  a  native  teacher 
from  Euruman  conducted  a  school  for  some  time  at  Sho- 
shong.  But  in  arranging  for  their  interior  missions  in 
1858  this  important  station  was  unfortunately  passed 
over  by  the  Directors  of  the  Society.  Its  population  of 
thirty  thousand  souls  ought  alone  to  have  led  to  a  different 
decision;  and  its  importance,  with  reference  to  the  country 
beyond,  was  hardly  less  striking..  Had  a  mission  been  first 
planted  here,  at  a  point  four  hundred  miles  farther  north 
than  Kuruman,  it  would  have  been  easy  afterwards  to  com- 
municate with  the  Makololo  concerning  the  residence  of 
missionaries  among  them.  Shoshong  indeed  was  the  true 
point  firom  which  to  have  commenced  both  the  Matebele 
and  Makololo  missions. 

In  1859  a  missionary  of  the  Hermannsburg  Society  com- 
menced operations  among  the  Bamangwato.  Owing,  how- 
ever, to  some  misunderstanding  between  the  managers  of 
the  Society  and  its  agents  in  Bechuana-land,  the  latter  were 
for  a  time  denied  pecuniary  assistance  from  Europe,  and 
were  compelled  to  resort  to  trading  with  the  natives  for 
support  It  was  reported  that  in  these  circumstances  the 
station  of  Shoshong  was  abandoned  by  the  missionary,  who 
had  returned  to  Natal ;  and  the  Directors  of  the  London 
Society  requested  me  to  occupy  the  town  as  one  of  their 
stations.      The  above  report,  however,  was  not  strictly 


228  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVEB. 

correct ;  so  I  felt  it  to  be  my  duty  to  inform  the  Directors 
that  I  did  not  regard  a  Becboana  town  to  be  vacant  while 
another  European  missionary  resided  in  it ;  although,  in 
this  case,  the  desultory  and  often  interrupted  efforts  of  one 
man,  unconnected  with  any  Society,  were  not  to  be  taken 
into  account  by  a  Society  carrying  on  an  extensive  work 
in  the  countiy.  At  Shoshong  I  should  at  least  be  able  to 
conmiunicate  with  the  interior  tribes,  and  especially  with 
the  Makololo. 

Travelling  with  two  waggons,  I  left  Kuruman  imme- 
diately after  receiving  the  letter  of  instructions  from  the 
Directors.  Besides  some  spare  oxen,  I  had  bought  a  few 
cows  for  the  general  benefit  of  my  establishment  in  the  in- 
terior, and  with  the  view  of  replacing  old  and  enfeebled 
oxen  in  my  team.  The  Missionaiy  Society  supplies  its 
South  African  agent  with  the  first  team  of  oxen  which  he 
needs  on  entering  the  country,  but  he  is  afterwards  sup- 
posed to  be  able  to  supply  oxen  for  himselfl  I  had  also 
purchased  about  twenty  sheep,  which  the  men  were  driving 
in  front  of  the  waggons  with  the  spare  oxen  and  cows.  I 
now  performed  a  journey  of  some  four  hundred  miles  at  the 
rate  of  twenty-four  miles  a  day.  This  is  considered  veiy 
good  travelling  in  that  countiy. 

On  my  way  north  I  paid  another  pleasant  visit  to  ihe 
Barolong  at  Montsiwe's  town.  I  was  again  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  condition  of  the  little  church  here,  under  the 
care  of  Moleme  and  Jan.  Considerable  progress  had  been 
made  since  my  last  visit.  The  leaven  of  Christianity  was 
steadily  operating  on  the  conmiunity.  The  young  peoj^ 
especially  were  losing  confidence  in  the  old  customs,  and 
giving  increased  attention  to  the  doctrines  tau^^t  from  the 
Word  of  God.  But,  as  I  was  informed  by  Moleme  on  this 
latter  occasion,  the  '*  kingdom  of  darkness  **  did  not  allow 
this  change  to  go  on  without  violent  opposition.  In. 
particular,  Montsiwe,  the  chief,  assumed  an  attitude  of 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  MAKOLOLO.  229 

open  hostility  to  his  Christian  subjects.  Matters  were 
brought  to  a  crisis  by  the  unusually  large  number  of 
young  people  who,  under  religious  impression,  ceased 
to  take  an  interest  in  those  subjects  which  engage  the 
attention  of  the  yoimg  in  a  heathen  town.  When 
these  inquirers  were  about  to  be  enrolled  in  classes,  and 
thus  take  up  a  position  as  "  bathu  ba  lehuku  "  (people  of 
the  Word),  the  chief  resolved  to  prevent  their  doing  so. 
His  decision  was  that  they  must  first  observe  the  usual  cus- 
toms of  their  forefathers,  and  especially  that  they  must  join 
in  the  reed-dance,  and  that  afterwards  they  might,  if  they 
diose,  "  join  the  Word  of  God."  Moleme  and  the  disciples 
were  opposed  to  this  course,  as  one  which  virtually  obliged 
them  to  serve  two  masters — a  thing  which,  they  said,  God's 
Word  told  them  no  one  could  do.  One  can  imagine  what 
would  be  the  result  of  resistance  to  the  will  of  the  chief  in 
such  a  town  as  Montsiwe's :  the  consequent  pitshos,  accu- 
sations, defences,  and  general  loud  talk  in  public ;  the  as- 
severations, the  upbraidings,  the  family  strifes  in  private. 
AU  this  Moleme  informed  me  was  enacted  among  the 
Barolong  when  the  young  people  resisted  the  will  of  their 
king,  and  broke  off  from  the  custom  of  their  forefathers. 

The  next  cause  of  offence  was  the  refusal  of  the  Christian 
young  men  and  inquirers  to  go  to  a  certain  hunt  (letshulo) 
enjoined  by  the  rain-doctors.  This  was  followed  by  their 
declining  to  join  in  digging  the  ''garden  of  rain"  (t43imo  ea 
pula).  This  is  a  heathen  ceremony,  and  those  who  take 
part  in  it  are  of  course  abettors  of  rain-making.  Moleme 
and  Jan,  with  the  other  believers  and  the  inquirers,  refus- 
ing to  join  in  digging  this  ''garden  of  rain,"  requested 
that,  if  the  king  wished  a  test  of  their  loyalty,  he  should 
appoint  them  another  field,  which  they  would  be  quite 
willing  to  dig  at  his  command.  **  Do  not  accuse  us  of  dis- 
obedience," said  they  to  the  chief;  "you  are  still  our 
father,  and  in  all  things  belonging  to  your  kingdom  we  con- 


230  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

tinue  your  most  willing  subjects ;  only  concerning  our  old 
customs  and  the  Word  of  God,  we  have  believed  the  latter, 
have  entered  into  the  Word,  and  therefore  may  not  join  in 
the  dark  deeds  of  our  forefathers,  who  had  not  the  know- 
ledge which  we  possess." 

Baffled  in  these  endeavours,  Montsiwe  had  recourse  to 
another  plan.  In  the  absence  of  the  two  chief  men  among 
the  believers,  he  gave  out  the  order  that  on  the  following 
Sabbath  there  should  be  no  meeting  in  the  little  chapel, 
and  all  were  to  join  in  the  customary  singing  and  dancing 
by  moonlight.  In  spite  of  the  chief,  the  believers  met  as 
usual,  led  on  and  encouraged  by  two  women,  whose  nam^ 
I  forget,  but  who  certainly  acted  in  a  manner  worthy  of 
their  Christianity. 

Finding  that  his  command  was  unheeded,  the  chief 
resolved  personally  to  scatter  the  little  company  and  terrify 
the  females,  who,  he  knew,  animated  the  rest.  Accord- 
Higly^  while  one  of  the  male  members  of  the  church  was 
engaged  in  prayer,  Montsiwe  appeared  at  the  chapel  door,  a 
naked  sword  in  hand ;  the  services  were  interrupted,  and 
-doubtless  many  were  terrified.  Montsiwe  ordered  the  wo^ 
shippers  immediately  to  disperse ;  but  he  was  answered  by 
one  of  the  two  women  that  they  were  doing  nothing  but 
what  was  required  of  them  aa  "  people  of  God's  Word,"  and 
that  they  should  just  go  on  with  the  service.  Then  fol- 
lowed what  must  have  frightened  many,  and  what  was 
meant  to  terrify  all.  The  chief  in  a  great  rage,  indignant 
at  being  opposed  to  the  hce  by  women,  threatened  the 
most  dreadful  things  if  they  did  not  at  once  leave  the 
place.  I  believe  he  ultimately  succeeded  in  clearing  tiie 
little  church,  but  he  was  utterly  foiled,  nevertheless,  in  his 
endeavour  to  put  a  stop  to  the  regular  meetings  for  wor- 
ship, which  were  taking  place  up  to  the  time  of  my  visit 

But  perhaps  the  most  interesting  part  of  this  account 
remains  to  be  told.     Montsiwe  had  a  daughter,  not  more 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  MAKOLOLO.  231 

than  twenty  years  of  age,  who  was  married  to  a  serious- 
.thinking  young  man,  and  who  herself  was  a  believer.  After 
it  had  occurred  to  the  chief  to  crush  Christianity  among 
his  people,  he  felt  of  course  that  he  must  ^  begin  at  home." 
Accordingly  he  forbade  his  daughter  to  attend  the  public 
worship.  He  was  obeyed  in  this ;  but  the  heads  of  the 
church  endeavoured  to  make  up  to  her  what  loss  she  might 
sustain  by  her  obedience  to  this  cruel  command,  by  regu- 
larly sending  one  of  their  number  to  read  to  her  the 
portions  of  Scripture  which  had  been. read  in  the  meet- 
ing, and  to  mention  something  of  what  had  been  said. 
Montsiwe  finding  this  out,  and  learning  that  she  continued 
to  sing  and  to  pray  in  private,  separated  her  from  her 
husband,  and  removed  her  to  his  own  house.  She  was 
forbidden  to  read  or  pray,  or,  in  short,  to  be  a  Christian. 
The  young  disciple  evaded  part  of  this  injunction  by 
carrying  about  with  her  her  Sechuana  hymn-book,  which  she 
read  in  her  secret  devotions.  This  being  discovered,  she 
was  ordered  to  doff  her  European  clothing,  and  to  return 
to  heathen  attire,  which  it  was  supposed  would  afford  her 
less  means  of  secreting  books  about  her  person.  However, 
she  was  not  to  be  baffled,  but  with  the  assistance  of  the  old 
women  contrived  a  plan  by  which  she  continued  to  cany 
about  with  her  the  Sechuana  hymn-book.  She  also  paid 
stolen  visits  to  old  Moleme,  who  encouraged  her  to  hold  fast 
her  confidence,  and  who,  in  giving  me  this  account  of  her, 
said,  **  I  fear  not  for  her;  the  Spirit  of  God  is  strong  within 
her."  Being  forbidden  the  company  of  Christians,  she 
could  only  remain  with  me  a  few  minutes.  I  am  not  sure 
that  she  was  allowed  to  attend  the  preaching,  which  was  in 
the  court-yard  and  not  in  the  chapeL 

My  visits  to  the  Barolong  cheered  my  heart  as  a  mis- 
sionary, and  especially  encouraged  me  to  hope  and  believe 
that  the  Bechuanas,  known  to  the  world  chiefly  in  con- 
nection with  strongly-drawn  pictures  of  their  degradation, 


232  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

may  yet  in  many  cases  force  themselves  into  favourable 
notice  on  account  of  their  steadfast  faith  in  the  gospel 
Especially  gratifjdng  will  it  be  to  Wesleyans  to  hear,  as  it 
is  to  me  to  publish,  that  their  labours  among  the  Barolong 
are  yet  bearing  precious  fruit,  although  the  field  is  at  present 
without  the  oversight  of  a  resident  European  missionaiy. 

I  found  that  the  district  between  Sechele's  Town  and 
Shoshong  was  veiy  dry^  there  being  only  two  available 
waters  on  the  road  which  I  took,  in  a  distance  of  about 
140  miles.  It  was  therefore  necessary  to  travel  a  good 
deal  by  night.  In  such  circumstances,  it  was  my  custom 
to  unyoke  about  an  hour  before  sunset,  that  all  mi^t 
prepare  for  the  work  of  the  night.  After  having  supper, 
my  wife  made  all  necessaiy  arrangements  for  retiring  to 
rest  in  the  waggon  with  the  little  ones.  The  sail-covering 
having  been  tightly  fastened  down  at  both  ends,  the  pre- 
cious freight  composed  themselves  to  rest,  rocked  to  sle^ 
by  the  jolting  of  the  rude  waggon,  and  awoke  only  if  it 
halted  for  any  length  of  time  on  the  way.  My  place  was 
on  the  front  of  the  waggon,  beside  the  driver.  It  was  this 
latter  arrangement  that  gave  confidence  to  my  inside 
passengers :  they  fiilly  believed  that  I  would  lead  them 
into  no  danger.  The  men,  who  had  just  had  a  good 
supper,  were  in  capital  spirits,  and  the  oxen,  which  had 
improved  the  opportunity  to  the  best  of  their  ability  in 
their  attentions  to  the  grass  of  the  prairie,  stepped  out  witii 
the  waggons,  during  the  cool  hours  of  the  delicious  moon- 
light, at  a  much  brisker  pace  than  during  the  day.  Having 
learned,  soon  after  entering  the  country,  to  use  the  long 
whip  of  the  waggon-driver,  I  now  and  then  relieved  one  of 
my  men,  who  meanwhile  lit  his  pipe,  and  told  me  some 
story  of  the  olden  time. 

After  toiling  for  hours  one  night  in  the  sand  we  were  all 
heartily  glad  when  we  ascended  the  bank  of  the  old  river 
course  of  Bonnononyane,  and  found  ourselves  rumbUng 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  MAKOLOLO.  233 

along  at  a  fine  pace  over  the  hard  Toad  approaching  Boatla* 
nama.  We  were  gomg  so  fast  that  the  drivers  of  the  spare 
oxen  in  front  could  hardly  keep  their  charge  out  of  the 
way  of  the  teams.  As  this  was  our  second  night  without 
rest,  the  poor  fellows  who  were  driving  them  were  very 
tired,  and  I  found,  on  going  forward  to  assist  them,  that 
one  man  especially,  who  had  had  a  severe  illness  at  Kuru- 
man,  was  actually  asleep  while  walking.  He  was  nodding 
his  head,  and  walking  as  if  he  had  St.  Yitus's  dance ;  when 
he  occasionally  ejaculated  to  the  oxen  his  voice  died  away 
before  he  could  finish  the  word.  The  cattle  which  he 
professed  to  be  driving  were — some  before  him,  others  on 
each  side,  and  a  few  had  got  behind  him,  and  were  driven 
by  the  leader  of  the  first  waggon !  I  suggested  that  he 
should  take  a  good  pinch  of  snuff,  but  although  not  at  all 
loath  to  do  so,  he  said  it  had  lost  its  power :  the  *^  sleep  had 
conquered  the  tobacco."  But  something  soon  occurred 
which  roused  him  most  effectually,  as  well  as  every  other 
member  of  the  party,  except  the  happy  sleepers  inside  the 
waggon.  I  had  been  walking  some  time  in  front  of  the 
waggons,  whistling  to  the  cattle  which  we  were  driving, 
and  keeping  up  the  spirits  of  the  men,  when,  not  more  than 
a  hundred  yards  in  front  of  us  on  the  road,  the  unwelcome 
roar  of  a  lion  suddenly  brought  every  ox  to  a  stand-still. 
They  raised  their  ears,  and  stretched  forward  their  heads, 
sniffing  for  the  animal  whose  voice  had  alarmed  them. 
What  was  to  be  done )  Even  if  I  halted  and  tied  up  the 
oxen  which  were  in  the  yoke,  the  loose  cattle  would 
certainly  bd  scattered  by  the  lion.  The  place  was  just 
suited  for  his  skulking  movements,  being  dotted  over  with 
thorn-bushes.  In  order  to  inspire  my  companions  with 
confidence,  I  ran  to  the  waggon,  and,  seizing  my  gun, 
returned  to  drive  the  loose  cattle  on.  I  asked  the  men  if 
their  assegais  were  ready,  and  they  said  they  were,  but  I 
did  not  anticipate  much  help  in  that  direction.     I  hoped 


234  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

• 

that  as  it  was  a  bright  moonlight  night  our  right  of  way 
would  be  conceded  by  the  loud-voiced  foot-pad  in  front 
The  oxen  were  very  unwilling  to  go  on,  especially  some  old 
ones  which  had  been  in  the  interior  before.     The  younger 
and  inexperienced  animals  led  the  way.     I  now  looked  out 
for  a  spring  to  be  made  upon  them  as  they  passed.    The 
drivers  behind  stood  on  the  waggon-chests,  and  made  the 
welkin  ring  with  their  large  whips.     At  length,  urging  on 
the  most  timid  of  the  oxen^  we  passed  the  place  where  we 
judged  the  lion  to  be.     After  this  the  oxen  went  on  more 
willingly.     The  waggons  passed  also  unscathed.     In  a  little 
my  companions  began  to  congratulate  themselves  on  what 
they  had  done.     "  It  (the  lion)  knows  how  to  distinguish 
people ;  it  knows  that  we  are  valiant  men  (literally  buU- 
cidves  of  men).     Monare  (Sir),  are  we  not  men  to-ni^tt" 
When  I  thought  that  one  of  them  had  been  so  exhausted 
a  little  before  as  to  be  imable  to  drive  his  oxen,  that 
they  were   now  only  armed  with  one  assegai   each,  I 
could    not    withhold   the  prabe    they    sought.      "Yee," 
I   said;    "you   have   done   well;    you   are    really  men 
to-night"     A   little   afterwards   one  of  them   said,  per- 
haps   in    consideration    of   this    compliment,    *' Monare 
bad  now  better  go  and  rest  on  the  front  of  the  waggon ; 
we  are  fairly  awake  now,  and  the  oxen  don't  need  mndi 
driving."     I  was  not  at  all  satisfied,  however,  that  we  were 
out  of  danger,  although  I  found  on  returning  to  the  waggon 
that  the  drivers  thought  so.     '^That  lion  has  only  the 
heart  of  a  wolf,"  said  one  man,  who  himself  was  not  the 
bravest  of  our  party.     I  made  up  my  mind  that  as  we  had 
got  safely  past  the  lion,  our  best  plan  would  be  to  travel 
right  on  without  unyoking  till  daybreak.     I  had  heard 
that  lions  in  certain  districts  got   acquainted  with   the 
waggon-roads,  and  often  lay  in  wait  in  their  neighbour- 
hood ;   and  that  they  would  proceed  for  miles  upon  the 
fresh  track  of  travellers.    After  proceeding  some  time,  the 


THE  LAST  OP  THE  MAKOLOLO..  235 

• 

night  became  intensely  cold,  and  my  men  beginning  to  feel 
their  weariness  return,  asked  leave  to  unyoke.  We  were 
now,  they  said,  within  an  easy  distance  of  the  water.  I 
refused  for  some  time,  although  I  felt  sorry  for  the  poor 
fellows,  who  had  been  toiling  in  the  heat  of  the  sun,  but 
whose  teeth  were  now  chattering  with  cold  as  they  sat  in 
front  of  the  waggons.  Having  gone  on  for  fully  two 
hours  after  we  passed  the  lion,  I  at  length  unwisely  yielded, 
against  my  own  judgment,  to  the  importunity  of  the  men, 
and  gave  them  permission  to  unyoke.  I  appointed  two  of 
the  freshest  and  best  men  to  watch  the  oxen  till  daylight, 
which  was  thought  now  to  be  near  at  hand.  Pulling  the 
waggon  8^  over  me,  I  lay  down  on  the  front  box  of  the 
waggon,  and,  overcome  with  the  fatigues  of  our  long 
march,  fell  fast  asleep.  When  I  awoke  the  eastern  horizon 
could  just  be  distinguished  by  the  grey  brightness  of  the 
advancing  light  of  day.  On  looking  out  I  missed  the 
oxen  from  the  place  where  they  had  gone  to  rest  some- 
time before  I  fell  asleep.  Springing  firom  the  waggon,  I 
found  the  men  aU  sitting  round  the  fire  in  silence.  I 
knew  there  was  something  wrong  now;  otherwise  they 
would  have  been  sound  asleep.  The  men  appointed  to 
watch  said  that  some  time  after  I  went  to  the  waggon,  the 
lion  had  passed  the  encampment,  until  he  got  on  the  wind- 
ward side  of  the  oxen,  when  he  made,  a  noise  which  not 
only  awoke  the  wearied  cattle,  but  with  the  scent  of  the 
dreaded  animal  carried  to  them  by  the  wind,  caused  them 
to  start  in  terror  and  rush  past  the  fire  at  the  top  of 
their  speed.  The  two  men  tried  to  stop  them,  but  of 
course  could  not  succeed.  I  verified  these  statements  next 
day. 

As  soon  as  it  was  daylight  the  men  started  on  the 
track  of  the  oxen.  Fearing  that  the  cattle  might  separate 
in  their  flight,  I  retained  only  two  young  lads  at  the 
waggon.     After  drinking  a  cup   of  coffee,  I  thought  I 


236  NORTH  OF  THE  OBANGE  RIVEIL 

should  like  to  know  at  least  in  what  direction  the  catde 
had  run.  Like  the  Bushmen,  I  felt  that  if  the  lion  had 
killed  anything,  I  ought  to  come  in  for  a  share  of  it,  hav^ 
ing  also,  in  this  instance,  I  thought,  a  good  right  to  what 
was  my  own.  One  of  the  boys  accompanied  me,  and 
after  proceeding  some  time  on  the  track  of  men,  lion,  and 
cattle,  I  found  as  we  entered  a  thicket  that  the  men  had 
here  turned  aside ;  and  there  remained  only  the  track  of 
cattle  with  that  of  a  large  lion  on  it.  Looking  through 
the  trees,  which  were  here  pretty  close,  and  perceiving  the 
men  some  distance  on  before,  I  asked  the  boy  how  they 
had  got  there,  seeing  they  had  left  the  track  t 

"We  thought  we  heard  a  sound  last  night  in  this 
thicket,"  the  boy  replied,  as  he  followed  aft»r  me,  **  as  of 
something  dying ;  and  perhaps  they  have  given  the  lion  a 
wide  berth,  and  taken  up  the  track  again  on  in  front" 

This  was  a  reason  for  leaving  the  track  which  I  had  not 
thought  of.  While  we  were  speaking  I  heard  a  movement 
among  the  bushes  a  little  before  me,  and  to  the  left 
Looking  in  that  direction,  I  found  we  were  close  to  the 
carcase  of  one  of  my  oxen,  which  the  lion  had  just  left 
He  had  eaten  the  greater  part  of  the  entrails  of  the  ox; 
but  our  approach  had  interfered  with  his  doing  justice  t^ 
the  more  solid  part  of  the  repast.  The  carcase  lay  at  the 
edge  of  the  copse.  Beyond  there  stretched  an  immense 
field  of  prairie-grass  fully  four  feet  high,  into  which  the 
lion  had  reluctantly  retired  as  we  appeared.  I  now  sent 
the  boy  to  the  waggons  for  his  companion  and  for  knives, 
that  we  might  get  the  Bushman's  portion  of  our  own  ox. 
I  found  that  the  animal  which  had  fallen  victim  was  a 
young  ox  which  a  few  days  before  had  become  slightly 
crippled  through  overexertion  in  pulling  the  waggon.  As 
he  was  content  with  such  an  ordinary  quarry,  I  felt  con- 
vinced that  our  acquaintance  of  the  previous  night  must 
be  an  old  lion^  glad  to  pounce  upon  the  animal  which  he 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  MAKOLOLO.  2S7 

could  first  overtake.  Although  such  old  lions  are  regarded 
as  the  most  daring  and  pertinacious,  this  one  had  now 
twice  "given  place  to  his  betters."  For  some  time  he 
proceeded  in  silence  through  the  long  grass ;  but  in  a  little, 
while  the  boys  were  skinning  the  ox  and  dividing  the 
meat  so  as  to  carry  it  to  the  waggons,  we  heard  him,  per- 
haps a  mile  away,  utter  an  occasional  low  growl,  which 
died  away  as  he  proceeded  in  the  direction  of  the  water. 

It  apparently  did  not  occur  to  the  lion  that  we  would 
remove  any  part  of  the  meat ;  for  being  ourselves  delayed 
the  whole  day  waiting  for  our  oxen,  we  found  as  soon  as 
the  sun  went  down  that  the  old  fellow  had  invited  his 
whole  family  to  partake  of  the  beef  which  he  had  so 
suddenly  deserted  in  the  morning.  When  they  came  to 
the  place,  and  found  little  or  nothing  there,  they  set  up  a 
ehoms  of  disappointment,  to  which  it  was  not  at  all  plea- 
sant to  listen.  We  had  made  a  strong  fence  for  the  sheep ; 
and  I  gave  a  gun  to  each  of  the  boys,  more  to  encourage 
them  than  from  any  expectation  of  our  requiring  to  use 
them.  One  of  the  lads,  however,  thought  he  might  as 
well  use  the  powder  and  lead  which  had  come  so  easily 
into  his  possession,  so  he  commenced  an  "  opposition  de- 
monstration," firing  into  the  darkness  in  the  direction  of 
6ar  visitors.  Whether  a  bullet  found  its  way  in  the  dark 
inconveniently  near  to  one  of  the  lions,  or  whether  it  had 
only  struck  against  a  tree  in  their  neighbourhood,  the  boy 
himself  did  not  profess  to  say,  but  all  at  once  the  roaring 
ceased,  and  was  not  again  resumed.  Contrary  to  our 
expectation,  we  were  able  to  sleep  soundly,  and  arose 
refreshed.  Soon  after  daybreak  the  men  appeared  with 
the  oxen.  The  affrighted  animals,  foi^etting  theur  weari- 
ness and  thirst,  had  struck  out  into  the  open  country  to 
the  east  of  the  waggon-road,  and  must  have  run  more  than 
a  dozen  miles.  Fortunately  they  kept  together  in  one 
troop.     It  was  after  mid-day  when  the  men  found  them. 


23a  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVEK 

Although  thej  returned  as  speedily  as  possible,  the  men 
saw  that  they  would  not  be  able  to  get  to  the  waggons  tiD 
after  sunset :  and  knowing  that  the  lion  would  be  sure  to 
return  to  finish  his  meal,  they  remained  during  the  night 
in  the  open  country,  at  a  small  Bakalahari  town,  from 
which  they  started  before  dawn.  The  men  were  now 
ready  to  admit  that  the  loss  of  the  ox  was  owing  to  their 
haste  in  unyoking  before  daylight.  *'  Cold  is  stronger  than 
a  lion,"  said  these  wiseacres  ;  *'  we  held  out  and  passed  the 
lion,  but  we  were  overcome  by  the  cold." 

The  deep  pool  of  Selinye,  which  we  reached  after  this 
adventure,  is  supplied  entirely  by  rain,  but  so  retentive  of 
water  is  its  slightly  brackish  bed,  that  I  have  never  known 
it  to  be  dried  up  except  on  one  occasion.  We  here  met  a 
waggon  belonging  to  native  hunters  who  were  on  their 
way  south.  They  announced  the  arrival  of  Mebalwe  firom 
Moselekatse's  country,  whither  he  had  gone  in  the  aenrice 
of  Mr.  John  Moffat  They  narrated  the  Matebele  news^ 
and  the  history  of  their  journey  to  Shoshong  in  the  com- 
pany of  Mebalwe.  At  length  some  one  asked — **  Has  he 
a  white  man  with  himt"  **  Yes,"  was  the  answer,  "he 
has  got  Yonie  "  (Mr.  John  Moffat).  The  whole  expedition 
had  been  mentioned  as  if  belonging  to  Mebalwe,  who  was 
then  in  Mr.  Moffat's  employment,  as  he  had  been  in  mine. 
The  Bechuanas  are  naturally  most  interested  in  their  own 
people,  and  I  have  since  often  heard  them  describe  the 
arrival  of  one  of  their  friends,  and  find  it  only  mentioned, 
as  a  minor  incident,  that  he  was  in  the  employment  of  a 
traveller  or  trader. 

On  arriving  at  Shoshong  in  June,  I  found  that  Mr.  Prioe, 
who  had  been  appointed  to  reinforce  the  Matebele  mission, 
had  remained  here,  having  taken  the  precaution  of  sending 
forward  letters  to  the  Matebele  missionaries  from  himself 
and  from  Mr.  Moffat,  in  order  that  his  approach  to  the 
country  might  be  announced  to  Moselekatse,  and  the  feeW 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  MAKOLOLO.  239 

ings  of  the  chief  ascertained  before  he  proceeded  further. 
Moselekatse  had  no  hesitation  in  returning  an  answer. 
Neither  he  nor  his  people  desired  more  missionaries.  Mr. 
John  Moffat  was  the  bearer  of  this  message.  Mr.  Price 
was  busily  engaged  when  I  arrived  teaching  the  Bainan- 
gwato,  in  the  temporary  absence  of  the  German  missionary. 
I  found  that  Mr.  John  Moffat  entertained  a  strong  desire 
to  assist  in  the  establishment  of  a  mission  to  the  north  of 
the  Zambese,  having  corresponded  on  the  subject  with  his 
brother-in-law,  Dr.  Livingstone,  who  had  given  him  many 
valuable  hints  as  to  the  country  and  the  best  manner  of 
procedure.  This  desire  was  strengthened  when  he  found 
that  I  seriously  contemplated  a  journey  to  that  country 
next  travelling  season.  Mr.  Price  also  joined  in  this  fresh 
attempt  to  open  up  the  region  of  the  Zambese  to  the 
gospeL  Sebehwe,  the  native  trader,  who  had  already 
brought  out  a  message  from  Sekeletii  to  Mr.  Moffat,  was 
now  at  Shoshong  on  his  way  back  to  the  Makololo  country. 
We  therefore  resolved  to  write  a  joint-letter  to  Sekeletu, 
informing  him  that  with  his  consent  we  would  next  year 
cross  the  Zambese,  and  proceed  to  Tabacheu,  and  endeavour 
to  select  a  suitable  site  for  a  mission  station.  We  expressed 
our  desire  to  teach  any  of  his  people  who  might  come  to 
reside  in  that  healthy  locality,  reminding  him  of  his  cruel 
conduct  at  Linyanti,  but  saying  that  God  desired  us  to 
wish  well  even  to  those  who  injured  us.  We  were  now 
sanguine  of  success.  Sekeletu  had  no  doubt  become 
thoroughly  ashamed  of  his  heartless  conduct  to  the  former 
missionary  party.  Once  settled  in  a  healthy  region,  we 
hoped  gradually  to  open  up  communication  with  the  east 
coaat  through  the  intervening  stations  of  the  English 
Universities  Missions  under  Bishop  Mackenzie.  Soon 
after  writing  to  Sekeletu  Mr.  John  Moffat  left  for  Euru- 
man.  In  August  Mr.  Price  and  I  engaged  an  artisan  who 
had  been  connected  with  the  Hermannsburg  mission,  to 


242  NOBTH  OF  THB  ORANGE  BIVKK. 

This  whole  project,  however,  was  destined  to  fall  to  the 
ground,  from  a  combination  of  causes  entirely  beyond  our 
control.  Most  singularly,  every  detail  seemed  to  miscany, 
so  that  at  the  time  we  had  proposed  to  start,  it  was  ob- 
viously impossible  for  any  of  us  to  do  so.  Mr.  Price  had  a 
serious  attack  of  illness  while  absent  for  supplies,  which 
induced  him  rductantly  to  give  up  the  idea  of  again  enter- 
ing the  Zambese  country.  Instead  of  being  able  speedily 
to  return  to  the  interior,  and  there  make  arrangements  to 
join  in  our  expedition,  Mr.  John  Moffat  was  delayed  by 
sadder  duties,  through  the  lamented  and  sudden  decease  of 
his  only  brother  a  few  hours  after  he  had  left  his  fiithei^s 
house  on  a  journey  to  NataL  Even  the  supplies  which  I 
had  ordered  were  not  forthcoming,  although  ample  time  had 
been  allowed.  And  to  crown  all,  the  whole  idea  upon 
which  the  two  missions  had  been  founded  in  England  was 
itself  entirely  dissolved  by  the  attack  of  the  Matebele  upon 
the  Bamangwato.  It  was  thought  that  missionaries  would 
be  aMe  so  to  sway  the  councils  of  the  Matebele,  as  that  their 
old  enemies,  the  Makololo,  might  with  safety  live  in  the 
open  country  of  Tabacheu,  provided  they  also  had  mis- 
sionaries with  them.  But,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  next 
chapter,  Moselekatse  attacked  the  Bamangwato  without  any 
provocation;  although  he  had  been  told  that  mission- 
aries were  residing  with  Sekhome,  and  indeed  that  one  of 
them  (Mr.  Price)  had  married  the  dau^ter  of  his  friend 
Mr.  Mo£ESat.  It  was  therefore  certain  that  the  same  diief 
would  not  be  deterred  fix^m  attacking  the  Makololo  if  they 
removed  within  his  reach,  even  althou^  missionaries  w^e 
residing  with  them. 

In  June  1863  I  had  an  opportunity  of  communicatiiig 
with  Sekeletu  by  a  party  of  English  gentlemen,  who 
were  visiting  the  Victoria  Falls.  I  announced  to  him  thai 
we  should  not  be  able  to  cross  the  Zambese  as  we  had  in- 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  MAKOLOLa  243 

tended,  and  that  he  must  also  take  notice  that  the  presence 
of  missionari^  in  his  town  had  not  prevented  Sekhome 
from  being  attacked  by  Moselekatee,  I  still  held  out  to 
him  the  hope  that  in  the  course  of  time  missionaries  might 
be  able  to  reside  with  his  tribe,  but  that  we  could  not  be 
a  shield  to  him  from  his  enemies.  This  was  the  last  com* 
munication  which  we  had  with  Sekeletu.  He  died  soon 
after,  a  victim  to  leprosj,  with  which  he  had  been  a£9icted 
for  some  time. 

And  now  began  the  last  brief  ch^^ter  in  the  history  of 
the  Makololo  tribe.  Dr.  Liyingstone  narrates  how  Soke* 
letu  himself  had  to  combat  opposition  after  the  death  of 
Sebetuane,  and  how  one  of  his  opponents  was  put  to  death 
while  the  young  chief  was  travelling  with  the  Doctor.  On 
Sekeletu's  death,  there  was  again  bloodshed ;  and  as  the 
reign  of  Impololo,  his  successor,  was  of  short  duration,  the 
intrigues  and  assassinations  were  hardly  at  an  end  when 
they  were  resumed  in  the  interest  of  another  daimant  for 
the  chieftainship.  During  these  disturbances,  the  people  of 
a  small  town  of  Makololo  escaped,  and  were  hospitably  r&> 
ceived  by  Lechulatebe  at  Lake  Ngami  Others  sought  among 
their  enemies  the  Matebele  an  asylum,  which  was  granted* 
The  Barotse,  the  Batoka,  the  Bashubea,  and  other  tribes 
which  had  been  conquered  by  Sebetuane,  were  not  unin- 
terested spectators  of  the  feuds  which  were  thus  decimating 
their  proud  masters.  The  fights  as  to  the  succession  to  the 
chieftainship  took  place  when  the  Makololo  were  assembled 
at  the  capital,  and  it  was  observed  by  the  keen-eyed  vassals^ 
that  after  the  tumult  was  over  for  the  time,  and  the  lords 
were  dispersed  among  their  villages,  their  numbers  kept 
steadily  decreasing.  At  length  the  Makololo  were  so  few 
that  even  the  timid  and  unwarlike  tribes  which  had  borne 
their  yoke  so  long,  resolved  by  one  united  effort  to  regain 
their  freedom  by  the  destruction  of  their  oppressors^    A 


244  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

plot  was  accordlnglj  concocted,  which  seems  to  have  been 
closelj  concealed  and  well  carried  out  by  those  who  had  the 
execution  of  it.  The  subject  tribes  rose  in  one  night  on 
their  masters,  and  put  them  to  death.  Some  Makololo, 
however,  whose  character  had  endeared  them  to  their  slaves, 
or  whose  vassals  were  perfidious  to  their  own  countrymen, 
were  able  to  collect  their  families  and  their  property  and 
to  escape  across  the  Mababe  into  the  Bushman  country, 
which  we  have  already  described.  A  few  also  again  escaped 
to  Moselekatse. '  But  the  Makololo  as  a  tribe  were  de- 
stroyed in  this  insurrection  of  their  vassals.  The  Makololo 
women  and  little  children  were  spared ;  and  Lotanku,  tiie 
Barotse  chief,  gained  considerable  prestige,  even  among  his 
own  people,  by  taking  to  wife  Mamochisane,  the  daughter 
of  Sebetuane.  The  Barotse  now  regarded  themselves  as 
revenged  for  the  years  of  oppression  which  they  had 
endured ;  and  from  a  native  point  of  view,  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  wives,  cattle,  and  *'  other  possessions  "  of  their 
former  lords,  their  triumph  was  complete. 

An  evil  destiny  hung  over  the  party  of  fugitives  who  had 
escaped  across  the  Mababe.  Although  some  of  their 
countrymen  had  been  favourably  received  by  Lechulatebe 
at  the  Lake,  this  party  decided  not  to  trust  to  one  who  had 
60  long  been  their  enemy,  but  rather  to  seek  protection 
from  Sekhome  the  chief  of  the  Bamangwato  at  Shoshong. 
But  Lechulatebe  was  unwilling  that  his  enemies  should  thos 
escape  out  of  his  hand.  There  was  living  in  his  town  one 
of  the  Makololo  who  was  under  great  obligation  to  Ledia* 
latebe  for  protection  afforded  him  many  years  before,  when 
he  had  fled  to  him  as  a  refugee.  He  was  now  willing  to 
further  the  interests  of  his  bene&ctor  to  the  best  d  his 
ability.  And  so  it  was  treacherously  planned  by  Lechn- 
latebe  and  this  refugee  that  the  latter  should  waylay  his 
passing  countrymen  and  endeavour  to  decoy  them  towards 
the  Lake.     He  accordingly  crossed  the  river  and  made  his 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  MAKOLOLO.  24£ 

appearance  among  the  Makololo  as  they  were  pursuing  th& 
route  towards  Sekhome. 

"  Who  has  told  you  about  Sekhome  1"  asked  the  traitor, 
"  that  you  should  go  to  him  1  Does  he  ever  slaughter  I 
Does  he  ever  make  beer  like  a  king  1  Are  not  his  people 
thin  and  ill-favoured  1  Who  then  eni^ourages  you  to  go  to 
him  V*  Pointing  towards  the  Lake,  he  went  on  :  ''At  the 
Lake  there  dwells  a  true  chief,  a  man  who  really  has  a  hearts 
Look  at  me.  You  know  I  fled  from  the  wrath  of  Sebe- 
tuane.  I  arrived  at  the  Lake  in  poverty  and  in  terror,  for 
it  was  the  town  of  our  enemies.  But  Lechulatebe  has  been 
a  father  to  me.  He  did  not  make  me  a  dog,  but  consti- 
tuted me  a  great  man ;  and  people  are  silent  when  I  speak 
in  the  council  of  the  Batowana.  As  to  meat,  only  Sebe- 
tuane  excelled  Lechulatebe  in  providing  for  his  people; 
his  men  also  drink  pots  of  beer  every  day  in  the  court-, 
yard.  I  am  a  Lekololo ;  I  am  your  brother ;  and  I  have 
come  to  assure  you  that  if  you  want  a  father  and  a  defender, 
you  will  find  these  in  Lechulatebe."  By  such  speeches,^ 
which  he  artfully  adapted  to  suit  the  character  of  those 
whom  he  addressed,  this  envoy  succeeded  in  his  mission, 
and  after  some  delay  and  negotiation,  the  Makololo  gave 
up  the  idea  of  going  south,  and  turned  aside  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Lake.  After  they  reached  the  Zouga,  Lechula^. 
tebe's  messenger,  who  of  course  acted  as  guide  to  the  party, 
so  managed  matters  as  to  succeed  in  separating  the  fighting 
men  from  the  women  and  children  and  camp-followers  carry- 
ing the  baggage  and  driving  the  cattle.  These  were  left  on 
the  eastern  bank  of  the  river ;  those  were  ferried  over  to 
the  western  side,  where  they  were  told  Lechulatebe  was  ad- 
vancing to  meet  them  and  to  welcome  them  to  his  town. 
The  guide,  who  was  aU  the  while  secretly  communicating 
with  his  master,  took  every  step  according  to  instructions 
which  he  re<?eivedfrom  him.  When  the  tragedy  was  ripe  for* 
its  final  act,  the  guide  one  morning  announced  to  his  fellow- 


2i6  VOSTH  OF  THE  OBAKGE  BIYEB. 

cumiUymen  that  a  short  mmfa  would  now  hring  them  to 
the  presence  of  their  fatore  king.  Lechalatebe,  to  show 
his  attention  to  tiiem,  and  his  wish  to  leeeiye  them  into 
his  town,  not  as  slaTes,  bat  as  freemen,  had  come  oat  to 
meet  them,  and  he  ezpeeted  that  in  a  little  thej  would 
leadi  the  royal  party.  A  short  time  afto*  this  intimation, 
the  guide  stoi^>ed  the  Makololo»  and,  pmnting  to  a  thicket 
cm  the  hank  of  the  riyer,  informed  them  that  the  grest 
chief  of  the  Lake  coontry  was  there  sitting  in  the  shade, 
and  waiting  to  receiTe  them.  "  It  will  be  necessaiy  for 
you  now,**  he  added,  *^  to  lay  aside  your  arms  during  the 
ceremony  of  being  jnesented  to  the  chief  It  is  not  his 
custom  to  speak  with  men  in  arms."  The  Makololo  at 
first  demurred  at  this  proposal,  afraid  of  some  plot  But 
when  they  came  to  consider  their  position,  it  seemed  to 
them  that  they  had  now  gone  too  iar  to  return.  Where 
wOTe  their  women  and  children,  their  servants  and  cattJe  t 
They  knew  not  They  had  no  boats  by  which  again  to 
reach  them.  If  they  resisted  Lechulatebe  now,  they  knew 
that  they  must  lose  all  that  was  dear  to  them.  And  had 
they  any  true  cause  for  alarm  1  Did  not  their  guide  smile  at 
their  hesitation,  and  assure  them  that  they  were  only  going 
to  greet  the  chief,  and  receive  refreshments  from  himt  At 
length,  half  ashamed  of  their  own  hesitation,  the  now 
devoted  Makololo  went  forward  unarmed  into  the  grove 
where  Lechulatebe  sat  apparently  surrounded  by  only  a  few 
attendants.  And  now  the  greeting  commenced:  the 
Makololo  shouting  out  the  praises  of  ^the  chief  who 
befriends  the  strangers,"  the  chief  answering  with  hollow 
words  of  welcome.  At  a  given  signal  from  Lechulatebe, 
each  surrounding  bush  poured  forth  its  armed  men,  who 
completely  overpowered  the  betrayed  and  helpless  Mako- 
lolo, and  stabbed  them  to  death  with  their  assegais.  Not 
one  escaped,  and  only  one  youth  was  spared,  whose  aster. 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  MAKOLOLO.  247 

a  member  of  Lechulatebe's  harem,  had  pleaded  for  his  life. 
The  Makololo  women,  separated  b j  forests  and  by  the  river 
from  the  scene  of  this  tragedy,  were  conducted  towards  the 
town,  entirely  ignorant  of  the  fate  of  their  husbands.  The 
servants  followed,  carrying  on  their  heads  the  property  of 
their  murdered  masters.  The  cattle  were  at  once  seized, 
and  driven  to  Lechulatebe's  posts.  The  Makololo  refugees, 
who  for  a  long  period  had  resided  with  Lechulatebe,  and 
who  up  to  this  time  had  enjoyed  his  protection  and  favour, 
were  now  one  by  one  put  to  death  on  the  nominal  charge 
of  witchcraft,  until  at  length  the  insatiable  assegai  desisted, 
not  because  it  was  appeased,  but  because  there  no  longer 
remained  a  Lekololo  of  birth  or  distinction  to  put  to  death ! 
Thus  perished  the  Makololo  from  among  the  number  of 
South  African  tribes.  No  one  can  put  his  finger  on  the 
map  of  Africa  and  say.  Here  dwell  the  Makololo.  And 
yet  this  is  the  mighty  people  who  more  than  forty  years 
ago  spread  dismay  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Kuruman — 
who  in  their  northward  journey  conquered  the  Ban- 
gwakatse,  the  Bakwena,  and  other  tribes  in  that  region — 
who  drove  the  Bamangwato  before  them  like  antelopes 
before  the  lion — ^whose  track  can  be  marked  by  the  usual 
signs  of  savage  conquest :  the  wasted  towns,  the  devastated 
country,  the  silent  grief  of  the  widowed  and  orphaned 
captives.  By  the  measure  which  they  had  meted  out  to 
others,  was  it  now  measured  to  them  again.  They  had 
taken  the  sword  and  lived  by  it;  by  the  sword  they 
now  perished.  As  long  as  the  genius  and  resources  of 
Sebetuane  presided  over  their  councils,  prosperity  attended 
their  footsteps.  Tins  chief  knew  kow  to  secure  the  affec- 
tions of  his  vassals  in  peace,  as  well  as  to  overcome  his 
enemies  in  war.  But  Sebetuane  had  no  successor.  Seke- 
letu  was  a  weakling ;  and  pride,  presumption,  and  effemi- 
nacy, characterized  the  children  of  Sebetuane's  warriors. 


248  NOBTH  OP  THE  OBANGE  SITER. 

I  do'  not  venture  to  affirm  die  presence  of  Divine  retri- 
botion  in  this  tragic  end  of  the  Makololo.  Our  Saviour 
discourages  us  from  forwardness  in  interpreting  the  modvee 
Tfhicli  influence  the  Divine  mind.  To  those  who  would 
assert  that  the  Matololo  were  sinners  above  all  the  tribes 
in  their  nei^bourhood,  and  that  therefore  they  suffered 
such  things,  our  Saviour's  sharp  warning  would  seem  to 
apply :  "  Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perisL" 
But  in  Bechuaua-land,  and  especially  among  the  heathen 
community  in  the  northern  part,  the  feeling  is  very  general 
that  the  destruction  of  the  Makololo,  so  soon  after  their 
inhospitable  and  perfidious  conduct  towards  the  misBion- 
aries,  is  to  be  traced  to  the  vengeance  of  God.  Nor  is 
this  mere  theory  in  the  native  mind ;  for  in  some  of  our 
difficulties  at  Sboshong,  which  are  hereafter  to  he  meo- 
tioned,  when  sinister  councils  had  well-nigh  prevailed,  some 
Gamaliel  was  sure  to  stand  up  and  advise,  "  Let  the  ms- 
sionary  alone :  the  Makololo  injured  the  misdonaiiee,  aod 
where  are  the  Makololo  t " 


Wooden  FUlow— ZunbaN  tri 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FIRST    YEAR    AT    SHOSHONG. 

Although  I  did  not  regard  Shoshong  as  my  permanent 
station  in  1862,  I  proceeded,  soon  after  my  arrival,  to 
build  a  temporary  hut.  I  availed  myself  of  the  custom  of 
the  natives,  and  asked  the  chief  to  point  out  where  I 
might  build,  which  he  was  very  willing  to  do.  I  bought 
nothing  in  connection  with  the  building  except  the  labour 
of  the  people  who  assisted  me.  The  structure  itself,  whose 
outward  appearance  was  more  picturesque  than  symmetrical, 
was  made  of  poles,  plastered  on  both  sides,  and  thatched 
with  reeds.  The  house  was  divided  into  three  rooms,  to 
which  a  fourth  was  afterwards  added.  The  kitchen  was 
outside.  Our  "windows  "  were  covered  with  white  calico ; 
they  were  therefore  not  very  bright  "  eyes  "  to  the  house, 
but  allowed  of  the  free  passage  of  **  wind,"  so  that  our 
lowly  abode  was  deliciously  cooL  When  the  hut  was  built 
we  expected  to  occupy  it  only  for  a  few  months  :  it  was 
however  our  only  dwelling  for  three  years. 

Soon  after  my  arrival,  the  Hanoverian  missionary  re- 
turned from  the  Transvaal  country.  I  explained  to  him 
that  I  had  been  sent  to  Shoshong  by  the  London  Mission- 
ary Society,  but  that  I  hoped  to  be  able  to  pierce  farther 
into  the  interior  next  season.  Mr.  Price  and  I  explained 
also  that  as  we  were  to  reside  for  some  months  in  the 
midst. of  a  large  heathen  population,  we  should  pf  course 


250  KOBTH  OF  THE  OBAKGE  RIVEB. 

engage  in  instmcting  the  people.  We  expressed  our  will- 
ingness to  co-operate  with  oar  Lutheran  friend  if  he  desired 
it,  during  the  time  we  were  together,  and  suggested  that 
our  teaching  should  not  extend  to  the  points  upon  which 
we  differed.  The  other  alternative  was  that  we  should 
ourselves  conduct  public  worship  and  day-school  in  another 
part  of  the  town.  Mr.  Schulenborg  chose  that  we  should 
co-operate  with  him,  sharing  the  public  services  of  the 
Sunday,  and  teaching  certain  classes  in  the  schooL  Per- 
haps we  had  the  best  part  of  this  bargain,  for  the  points 
upon  which  we  were  to  be  silent  did  not  bulk  so  largely  in 
our  creed  as  in  that  of  our  friend.  It  was  no  effort  to  us 
to  keep  sacraments  and  ceremonies  in  the  background ;  but 
it  was  a  different  matter  with  our  colleague.  The  arrange- 
ment, however,  was  carried  on  very  harmoniously;  and 
we  all  found  scope  and  verge  enough  for  our  teaching  in 
the  cardinal  truths  of  our  religion,  upon  which  we  were 
truly  agreed,  and  which  it  was  of  the  first  importance 
that  the  heathen  should  know.  The  London  Society  never 
censured  us  for  taking  this  step ;  bi^t  I  afterwards  learned 
with  regret  that  our  friend's  conduct  had  been  disapproved 
of  by  his  superiors.  I  even  heard  it  hinted  by  others  <rf 
his  Society  that  our  colleague  was  half  suspected  of  having 
been  inoculated  during  our  co-operation  with  some  of  our 
dangerous  **  English  views,"  and  I  could  see  that  such  a 
catastrophe  as  the  slightest  falling  away  from  inherited 
Lutheranism  would  be  deeply  deplored. 

In  spite  of  all  the  charms  and  spells  of  the  priests  and 
doctors  of  Shoshong,  small-pox  made  its  appearance  in  the 
town  at  this  time,  the  infection  having  been  brou^t  by 
some  travellers  from  a  village  in  the  south,  in  which  it  was 
then  raging.  The  early  Dutch  colonial  records  speak  of 
an  ^  infectious  disease  "  as  appearing  among  the  Hottentots 
in  1663  and  in  1666.    Agsdn  in  1674  an  ''  infectioas  dia- 


FIRST  YEAB  AT  SHOSHONG.  251 

ease ''  broke  out  among  the  people  of  a  certain  tribe.  Per- 
haps these  were  fevers  of  an  epidemic  character,  such  as  a 
few  years  ago  visited  the  colony.  In  1713  small-pox  was 
introduced  into  the  country  from  a  vessel  which  had  several 
cases  on  board.  The  disease  seems  to  have  committed 
fearful  ravages  at  the  Cape,  probably  such  as  I  myself 
witnessed  in  Bechuana-land.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Valentyn,who 
was  an  eye-witness,  describes  it  as  a  "^  sweeping  pestilence.'' 
When  it  was  at  its  height  hundreds  of  natives  were  lying 
dead  along  the  roads.  In  1755  small-pox  again  visited 
the  colony,  and  in  Cape  Town  alone  carried  off  2000 
people.  In  1767  it  returned,  and  numbered  1000  victims 
in  Cape  Town.  In  1812  the  wave  again  passed  over  the 
country;  in  1831-2  it  reappeared;  and  its  last  visit  was 
that  of  1858. 

When  we  landed  in  Cape  Town  in  1858,  this  loathsome 
disease  had  just  broken  out,  and  was  graduaUy  spreading 
among  the  population  of  the  town.  The  epidemic  soon 
found  its  way  into  the  coimtry  districts.  Our  own 
waggons  were  often  looked  upon  with  suspicion  as  we  tra- 
velled northwards.  On  one  occasion,  one  of  the  mission- 
aries happened  to  unyoke  his  waggon  for  the  night  a  little 
in  fix>nt  of  the  rest.  We  had  difficulty  in  contradicting  the 
story  which  was  consequentiy  spread  by  sbme  Dutchmen 
who  hastily  rode  past  us,  and  who  affirmed  that  the  English 
missionaries  had  certainly  the  ^pokjes''  in  their  party, 
for  one  waggon  had  been  drawn  aside  from  the  rest! 
But  if  this  disease  did  not  travel  north  so  fast  as  we  did, 
it  nevertheless  steadily  followed  us.  It  took  four  years  to 
travel  a  thousand  miles,  turning  aside  to  visit  every  glen 
and  lingering  at  every  farm-steading.  A  railway  train  can 
carry  infection  speedily,  as  it  does  ever3rthing  else.  But 
even  diseases  ^take  time  to  bait"  in  their  progress 
through  Africa.    When  the  deadly  wave^  however,  has  rolled 


252  NOBTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

slowly  oyer  a  district,  it  does  not  retnm  for  years. 
Hence  the  timidity  of  the  coontiy  people  in  the  colony, 
whose  fEurms  are  widely  separated.  They  placed  in  qnaran- 
tine  all  strangers  who  approached  their  fium.  Tliey 
firmly  believed  that  if  they  strictly  isolated  themselves 
tintil  the  tide  of  infection  had  passed  their  district^  they 
wonid  then  be  able  without  danger  to  mingle  in  general 
society.  And  they  all  trosted  to  this  isolation,  much  more 
than  to  vaccination,  which  was  unpopular  among  them. 

On  this  occasion  small-pox  was  accompanied  by  meades 
— ^where  the  one  went  the  other  was  sure  to  follow.  The 
two  diseases  were  known  in  Bechuana-land  by  the  same 
names,  Sekoripane  and  Sekhonkhwane,  the  distinction 
being  conveyed  by  the  adjective  ^  great"  applied  to  small- 
pox, and  ^little"  applied  to  measles.  The  names  in 
Sechuana,  like  the  word  **  measles,"  have  reference  to  the 
^  dotted "  appearance  of  the  skin  of  those  suffering  from 
these  diseases. 

I  found  that  the  Bamangwato  were  in  the  habit  of 
inoculating  for  small-pox — sometimes  in  the  forehead,  but 
more  frequently  on  the  front  of  the  leg,  a  little  above 
the  knee.  It  was  no  doubt  unwise  to  inoculate  in  the 
forehead;  but  among  those  whose  knees  and  arms  were 
equally  bare,  the  other  Bamangwato  custom  was  natural 
enough.  As  in  other  communities,  however,  a  lai^  number 
of  people  refused  to  bestir  themselves  in  the  matter. 
Sekoripane,  they  said,  would  kill  those  it  intended  to  kill ; 
and  so  they  just  let  it  alone.  On  several  occasions  I 
had  received  vaccine  virus  fi*om  the  Colony,  but  had  not 
succeeded  with  it.  In  order  therefore  to  stay  the  ravages 
of  the  dreadful  disease,  we  strongly  recommended  inocula- 
tion to  Sekhome  and  his  people,  and  offered  to  inoculate 
as  many  as  came.  We  selected  children  with  a  mild  form 
of  the  disease,  some  of  whom  indeed  we  found  playing  in 


'■■r 


.   FIKST  YEAR  AT  SHOSHONG.  253 

the  streets,  and  propagated  that  type  by  inoculation. 
We  remembered  that  our  own  forefathers  had  done  this  for 
many  a  year  before  Dr.  Jenner  satisfactorily  proved  the 
value  of  vaccination.  Sekhome,  and  most  of  the  grown- 
up people,  had  had  the  small-pox  on  the  occasion  of  its 
last  visit  to  the  country.  "  It  killed  me  before,"  was  the 
usual  remark  of  such  persons,  pointing  at  the  same  time 
to  the  marks  in  their  face.  I  inoculated  several  of 
Sekhome's  sons,  and  also  a  good  many  people.  Only  one 
person,  of  those  to  whom  I  thus  gave  the  disease,  was 
compelled  to  take  to  bed,  and  he  only  for  two  days.  But 
in  such  a  large  town  the  number  of  deaths  was  very  great. 
The  careless  and  the  heedless  who  had  not  been  inoculated, 
the  poor  people  and  the  vassals,  died  every  day.  At 
length  the  people  seemed  to  weary  of  burying  the  dead ; 
especially  in  the  case  of  friendless  dependants.  A  long 
thong  was  tied  to  the  body  of  such,  which  was  dragged  by 
this  means  behind  some  rock  or  bush,  or  into  the  dry  bed 
of  a  ravine,  and  there  left.  The  hyenas  and  tigers 
battened  by  nighty  the  dogs  and  vultures  and  crows  held 
carnival  by  day,  on  these  exposed  and  putrefying  corpses. 
Several  times  I  stumbled  over  these  hideous  objects,  and 
scattered  the  dogs  from  their  revolting  feast.  I  remon- 
strated with  ttie  chief,  but  little  attention  was  paid.  "  The 
hearts  of  the  people  are  dead  within  them,"  was  the 
answer,  and  it  really  seemed  to  be  so  with  many.  After 
the  disease  had  passed  away,  I  met  with  several  people  in 
Shoshong  and  elsewhere  who  had  become  blind  by  the 
eruption  appearing  in  the  eye. 

.  The  wolf  or  spotted  hyena  (phiri)  of  Bechuana-land  is 
a  large  and  powerful  animal  Its  fore-quarters  are  espe- 
cially strong;  so  that  it  can  run  with  considerable  speed 
with  its  prey  in  its  mouth.  Its  jaw  is  also  powerful,  but 
the  teeth  a^  blimted  by  the  bones  which  it  is  often  com- 


254  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

polled  to  break  for  food.  It  is  very  cowardly^  is  seldom 
seen  in  daylight^  and  at  night  is  extremely  cautions  in 
its  mode  of  attacks.  A  gentleman  who  had  joined  a  party 
of  elephant-hunters,  for  some  reason  or  other  used  to  make 
his  bed  away  from  the  fire  and  his  companions.  When 
the  himters  arrived  at  Shoshong  this  gentleman  as  usual 
slept  apart.     His  friends  were  awoke  in  the  middle  of  the 

night  by  the  vehement  shouts  of  Captain ,  round 

whose  solitary  bed  (as  the  tracks  testified  next  morning) 
a  wolf  had  paced  for  some  time,  until  at  last  it  mustered 
courage  to  lay  hold  of  the  dressed  skin  which  served  as  a 
mattress,  and  to  drag  off  its  sleeping  prize  as  &st  as  it 
could !  The  shouts  of  the  alarmed  captive,  and  the  noise 
of  the  half-wakened  sleepers  at  the  fire,  induced  the  wdf 
to  relinquish  its  hold.  When  the  captain  next  made  his 
bed,  it  was  nearer  the  fire  and  his  companions. 

A  boy  who  was  for  some  time  my  own  goatherd,  had  some 
years  before  been  seized  by  a  wol^  which  had  crept  throng 
the  frail  fence  roimd  his  mother's  dwelling.  Holding  the 
boy  by  the  head,  the  wolf  made  for  the  mountain  as  fiist  as 
it  could.  The  boy's  screams  awoke  the  neighbours,  idio 
followed  in  pursuit  The  little  fellow  seems  to  have  had 
all  his  wits  about  him,  for  he  seized  a  sharp-edged  stone 
against  which  his  hand  was  dragged  in  the  wdfs  fli^d^ 
and  applying  it  to  his  captor's  fB.ce  and  eye,  induced  it  to 
let  him  go,  when  he  was  recovered  by  his  mother  and  tlie 
neighbours.  He  lost  an  ear  on  this  occasion,  and  received 
wounds  on  his  head  and  face  which  would  have  killed 
many  children.  Another  little  child  was  taken  by  the 
wolf  soon  after  we  reached  Shoshong,  and  was  never  seen 
again.  The  mother  was  annoyed  in  her  house  by  ^tain> 
pans,"  insects  whose  bite  is  more  distressing  than  that  of 
mosquitoes.  Getting  up  in  the  night,  she  plied  her  brash 
on  the  floor  of  her  hut,  and  having  now  well-ni^  collected 


FIRST  TEAR  AT  SHOSHONG.  255 

her  tonnentors,  she  asked  her  child  to  stand  for  a  Httle 
outside  the  door  while  she  swept  them  out.  It  so  hap- 
pened that  a  wolf  was  just  passing  the  woman's  hut  at  the 
time ;  it  seized  the  child  and  made  off  with  it  to  the  hilL 
After  feeding  on  human  bodies  for  a  considerable  period 
during  the  prevalence  of  small-pox,  it  seemed  as  if  these 
creatures  grew  bolder  when  the  supply  ceased.  A  grown- 
up woman  was  dragged  away  one  night,  and  so  severely 
bitten  that  she  died  in  the  course  of  next  day.  Sekhome 
actually  came  to  me  and  proposed  that  the  woman's  body 
should  be  exposed  next  night,  and  that  I  should  put  some 
strychnine  into  the  flesh  1  I  encouraged  the  chief  rather 
to  give  rewards  for  eveiy  wolf's  skin  that  his  people 
brought  to  him ;  and  when  he  demurred,  I  myself  offered 
four  pounds  of  lead  for  every  skin — the  skin  to  remain  in 
the  natives'  possession.  At  this  time  we  were  every  m'ght 
disturbed  by  the  cackling  and  howling  and  hideous  laughing 
of  tiiese  hyenas.  One  Sunday  evening  our  rest  was  dis- 
turbed by  a  specially  loquacious  fellow,  who  discoursed 
from  the  other  side  of  the  native  town  in  front  of  our 
house,  until  I  could  stand  it  no  .longer,  but  had  to  go  out 
half-dressed  to  chase  it  away.  Bound  our  own  dwelling 
no  hyena  dared  come.  I  had  at  this  time  a  very  fine  dog, 
of  no  particular  breed,  but  perhaps  nearer  to  a  mastiff  than 
anything  else.  He  had  been  trained  to  guard  sheep  in  the 
Colony ;  and  seemed  to  have  a  profound  contempt  for  his 
nightly  combatants.  If  one  ventured  to  approach  my  calf- 
pen,  Nero  drove  it  back  at  once,  following  it  for  some 
distance,  and  finishing  up  with  a  note  of  triumph  which  I 
soon  learned  to  recognise.  In  the  middle  of  the  night  I 
have  heard  their  first  encounter — ^the  retreat  of  the  hyena 
— ^the  note  of  triumph;  and  next  minute  I  would  hear 
£Edthful  Nero  snifi&ng  about  the  door  or  the  calico  window, 
as  if  to  indicate  to  me  that  he  was  at  his  post. 


256  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

One  evening  Sekhome  informed  me  that  he  was  going 
to  appoint  two  men  to  waylay  the  hyena  beside  the  carcase 
of  a  horse  which  had  that  day  died  of  "  horse-sickness." 
It  was  therefore  necessary  for  me  to  tie  up  my  dog,  other- 
wise no  wolf  could  have  passed.  It  was  amusing  to  hear 
the  whinings  and  pleadings  of  Nero,  as  he  scented  the 
approaching  hyena,  and  was  unable  to  go  out  to  meet  it 
By  and  bye  I  heard  the  report  of  a  gun,  and  going  down 
to  the  place  where  the''  men  had  been  stationed,  found 
them  groping  about  in  the  dark.  They  said  they  were 
sure  they  had  wounded  the  wolf,  and  were  expecting  eveiy 
moment  to  stumble  over  its  body !  I  went  and  loosened 
Nero,  and  brought  him  to  the  place.  He  was  not  long  in 
finding  the  woimded  animal,  and  commenced  barking  about 
one  hundred  yards  up  the  hilL  The  men  did  not  ^em 
inclined  to  go  up,  so  I  led  the  way. 

As  we  approached  the  spot  where  Nero  stood  baiting  the 
wolf,  the  man  whose  gun  was  still  loaded  came  up  to  me 
and  said,  "  You  know  how  to  fire  better  than  I  do ;  tjAe 
the  gun."  The  previous  bullet  had  injured  one  of  the  wolf  a 
legs,  but  it  was  still  able  to  make  progress  up  the  hilL 
Nero  however  now  laid  hold  of  him,  and  a  bullet  from  the 
flint  musket  settled  the  question.  The  Bamangwato  actu- 
ally ate  this  horrid  creature,  although  it  was  believed  bj 
all  to  be  the  one  which  had  carried  away  the  little  child. 
Latterly  its  food  must  have  been  rather  of  an  indigestible 
description ;  the  greater  part  of  a  lady's  boot  being  one  d 
the  articles  found  in  its  stomach  by  those  who  skinned  it ! 
The  skin  of  both  this  animal  and  of  the  baboon  are  sacred 
to  the  use  of  the  doctors  or  priests.  No  common  peisoo 
dare  wear  them* 

The  rains  were  delayed  till  November  this  year ;  and  as 
a  dry  spring  is  here  always  an  unhealthy  one,  the  ravages 
of  small-pox  were  succeeded  by  fever  and  dysentery.    Mr. 


FIRST  YEAR  AT  SHOSHONG.  257 

Price  and  I  therefore  sought  a  few  days'  change  of  air  and 
scene  for  ourselves  and  our  families  in  the  open  country  of 
Mashue.  As  we  had  both  purchased  horses  for  our  projected 
journey  to  the  Zambese,  we  thought  this  a  good  opportunity 
for  exercising  both  them  and  ourselves.  One  day  Mr.  Price 
left  the  waggons  after  breakfast  to  look  for  a  giraffe  or  an 
eland,  to  supply  the  wants  of  our  party.  Some  hours 
afterwards  a  Bushman  made  his  appearance  to  say  that 
elands  were  grazing  close  in  our  neighbourhood.  My 
horse's  back  was  in  wretched  condition  when  I  bought  it^ 
and  was  not  yet  whole ;  but  the  message  that  the  game 
was  so  near  to  the  waggons  made  me  improvise  additional 
padding  for  the  saddle,  so  as  to  protect  the  wound,  and 
guided  by  the  Bushmen  and  two  of  my  own  men,  I  started 
on  the  eland  spoor.  I  found,  however,  that  the  track  was 
not  so  fresh  as  I  had  been  led  to  believe ;  and  when  some 
miles  from  the  camp  I  saw  from  the  tracks  that  Mr.  Price 
had  already  lighted  on  it.  While  thinking  of  at  once 
returning  to  the  waggons,  I  was  surprised  to  notice  that 
the  track  of  Mr.  Price's  horse  led  through  places  where  a 
horse  alone  could  go,  but  not  with  a  rider  upon  it.  On 
examining  the  tracks  more  carefully,  we  could  see  Mr. 
Price's  own  footmark  on  the  ground.  What  had  happened  1 
If  horse  and  rider  had  been  thus  separated,  we  must  evi- 
dently hasten  on  and  render  assistance.  So  on  we  went 
for  a  considerable  distance  without  reaching  any  solution 
of  the  cause  of  our  anxiety.  The  Bushman  now  drew  my 
attention  to  the  setting  sun  and  to  a  large  thunder-cloud 
which  seemed  to  advance  in  our  direction.  We  reluctantly 
made  our  way  for  the  camp,  feeling  that  we  could  do  no 
more  to  explain  the  mystery  of  the  riderless  steed. 

Our  own  difficulties  were  soon  to  begin.  We  had  gone 
much  farther  than  I  had  thought.  Darkness  set  in  while 
we  were  still  far  from  the  waggons.    In  a  short  time  no  object 


253  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

whatever  was  visible.     I  could  not  see  the  Bushman  in 
front  of  the  horse,  nor  the  horse's  head,  nor  my  own  hand 
— ^for  I  held  it  out  to  try.     By  and  bye  the  Bushman  said 
he  could  no  longer  see  the  path,  and  was  afraid  he  would 
wander.     I  encouraged  him  to  proceed;   and  while  we   , 
went  on,  rain  began  to  fall  in  torrents.     The  Budbman 
now  doggedly  sat  down  with  his  back  against  the  stem  of 
a  tree,  and  would  go  no  farther.     In  order  to  avoid  dis- 
putes, I  suppose,  he  refused  to  answer  me  in  Sechoana, 
speaking  only  Bushman,  which  I  did  not  understand.    I 
now  dismounted,  already  thoroughly  drenched  with  rain. 
The  only  thing  that  was  dry  was  my  gun,  which  was  now 
our  only  protection  in  a  country  infested  with  lions.    The 
lain  fell  steadily  for  about  three  hours.     I  held  the  horse's 
bridle  myself,  afraid  lest,  if  affrighted,  he  should  suddenly 
disengage  himself  from  the  hands  of  one   of  the  men. 
When  the  rain  abated  we  began  to  bethink  ourselves  df  a 
fire^     I  had  some  veiy  good  matches.     We  now  groped  in 
likely  places  for  dry  grass  or  wood ;  but  everything  seemed 
to  be  thoroughly  soaked.     My  matches  were  exhausted 
before  we  got  the  fire  to  bum.     One  of  my  men  had  a 
tinder-box ;  we  set  to  work  again,  and  again  failed.     The 
Bushman  now  began  to  move  his  limbs  a  little,  and  at 
length  condescended  to  give   us  a  piece  of  his   mind. 
^The  white  man's  fire  is  quick  and  bright,  but  it  soon 
bums  out.     It  is  not  made  for  the  rain.     The  Bechoana's 
tinder-box  needs  a  great  deal  of  puffing  and  blowing,  and 
ends  in  smoke  and  darkness.     Make  way  for  the  Bush- 
man."    He  now  produced  his  hunting-bag,  still  nearly  diy ; 
how  he  had  kept  it  so  was  to  me  a  mystery.     Its  contents 
were  perfectly  dry.     He  sought  the  flat  piece  of  wood  in 
which  the  fire  is  produced,  and  placed  it  above  some  diy 
shavings  of  another  and  very  inflammable  tree,  which  he 
carried  for  the  purpose.     The  slender  rod  which  is  used 


FIRST  YEAR  AT  SHOSHONG.  259 

in  producing  the  friction  and  the  fire  was  next  brought 
out ;  and  to  work  the  Bushman  went,  chanting  meantime 
something  which  was  possibly  some  spell  or  charm.  Little 
bits  of  fire  soon  fell  upon  the  shavings  from  the  hole  in 
which  the  friction-rod  was  revolving.  When  the  operator 
thought  there  was  enough  of  this  fire  produced,  he  com- 
menced cautiously  to  blow,  still  keeping  the  flat  piece  of 
wood  on  the  top.  After  failing  once  or  twice,  the  Bush- 
man succeeded  in  getting  a  fire.  The  next  thing  was  to 
dry  ourselves  and  our  clothes,  which  was  soon  accom- 
plished ;  and  then  we  forgot  our  adventure  in  sleep,  my 
saddle  being  a  pillow  and  the  soft  moist  sand  a  bed.  Such 
a  night  in  certain  latitudes  would  give  a  person  ^^his 
death  of  cold;''  in  Africa  travellers  often  endure  it,  and 
are  seldom  the  worse  for  it. 

Next  morning  we  hastened  to  the  waggons  to  obtain  an 
explanation  concerning  Mr.  Price,  and  indeed  to  find  if  he 
had  arrived  at  the  camp.  I  found  that  my  well-meant 
exertions  had  been  entirely  gratuitous,  and  that  Mr.  Price 
had  reached  the  waggons  at  an  early  hour  the  previous 
afbemoon !  He  had  not  met  with  any  game,  and  after 
some  hours'  search,  had  saddled  off  his  horse  to  let  it 
graze  for  a  few  minutes  before  returning  to  the  waggons. 
Now  Bluebuck  had  an  unfortunate  trick  of  resisting  all 
efforts  to  catch  him  when  knee-haltered,  until  he  found 
himself  fairly  surrounded.  As  on  this  occasion  he  had  only 
his  master  to  attempt  to  catch  him,  he  could  easily  keep  at 
a  convenient  distance,  nibbling  away  at  the  grass  in  a  pro- 
Toking  manner,  and  apparently  enjoying  the  sport.  At 
last  Mr.  Price  was  fain  to  carry  the  saddle  himself,  and 
drive  his  wilfid  horse  before  him,  and  in  this  fashion 
reached  the  waggons.  This  was  the  explanation  of  the 
mysterious  tracks  which  had  filled  us  with  anxiety,  and 
caused  us  to  spend  a  dreary  night  in  the  rain  and  dark- 


260  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 


/ 


ness.  He  whom  we  sought  was  comfortably  ensconced  in 
his  waggon,  whilst  we,  who  flattered  ourselves  that  we 
were  to  deliver  him  from  some  calamity,  were  benighted, 
and  in  our  turn  supposed  to  be  lost ! 

But  although  Bluebuck  had  little  ways  of  his  own,  which 
were  not  altogether  pleasant,  he  was  a  fine  strong  horse, 
with  wind  which  never  failed.     On  this  excursion,  and 
mounted  on  Bluebuck,  Mr.  Price  killed  two  giraffes,  and  I 
an  oryx  or  gemsbuck,  which  is  said  to  be  the  fleetest  of  the 
antelopes.     I  gave  chase  under  the  impression  that  the  half- 
dozen  creatures  before  me  were  elands,  but  as  I  approached 
I  could  see  that  they  were  gemsbucks  or  kukamas.    I 
separated  one  from  the  rest,  and  Bluebuck  seemed  to  enjoy 
his  work,  although  at  the  last  he  needed  considerable 
urging.     We  had  a  fine  open  country ;  the  holes  of  the 
wild  hog,  and  the  trunks  of  fallen  trees,  being  thus  avoid- 
able as  we  went  along.     All  at  once  the  gemsbuck  turned 
sharp  round,  and  stood  on  the  defensive,  its  tongue  visible 
in  its  open  mouth,  its  nostrils  dilated,  its  whole  appearance 
betokening  terror,  anger,  and  exhaustion.     In  such  circum- 
stances,  this  animal  is  more   combative  than   eland  or 
giraffe.     A  bullet  speedily  ended  its  sufferings.     In  the 
gemsbuck  I  had  secured  a  nobler  prize  than  the  eland, 
although  the  flesh  of  the  latter  would  have  gone  further 
in   supplying  the  wants  of  our  party.     Following  the 
custom  of  the  country,  I  tied  the  brush  of  the  tail  to  Bhie> 
buck's  saddle.     There  are  many  fleet  horses  in  Bechnana- 
land  that  cannot  run  down  a  gemsbuck. 

As  soon  as  the  young  grass  began  to  appear,  the  horses 
which  Mr.  Price  and  I  had  purchased,  as  well  as  those 
bought  by  Sekhome  for  the  purpose  of  hunting;  fell  sick, 
one  after  the  other,  of  what  is,  by  way  of  pre-eminence, 
called  in  Southern  Africa  "  the  horse-sickness."  The  horse 
is  seen  grazing  in  its  usual  health ;  an  hour  after  it  stands 


FIRST  YEAR  AT  SHOSHONG.  261 

in  the  utmost  distress,  its  eyes  sunken,  with  a  swelling 
above  the  upper  eyelid ;  the  breathing  is  rapid,  laboured, 
and  stertorous;  froth  fiUs  the  mouth  and  nostrils,  and 
perspiration  drops  from  the  animal,  which,  however  wild 
or  skittish  before,  is  tame  enough  now.  This  acute  inflam- 
mation frequently  runs  its  course  in  an  hour  or  two.  After 
death,  a  large  quantity  of  a  frothy,  greenish*  coloured  liquid 
is  discharged  from  mouth  and  nostrils.  It  is  considered  a 
good  sign,  if,  when  seized  with  this  deadly  disease,  the 
horse  coughs  frequently,  and  brings  up  quantities  of  this 
froth.  This  cough  often  lingers  weeks  after  the  recovery 
is  otherwise  complete ;  but  there  is  no  discharge  after  the 
acute  symptoms  pass  away.  There  is  no  cure  for  this 
disease ;  indeed,  the  seat  of  the  disease  itself  does  not  seem 
to  be  very  well  imderstood.  Examination  of  the  horse 
after  death  throws  little  light  upon  the  subject.  The 
Dutch  call  it  "  gall-ziekte ;''  the  English,  inflammation.  A 
medical  friend  gave  me  a  prescription,  which  he  said  he  had 
found  successful  in  another  part  of  the  country.  But  at 
Shoshong  it  entirely  failed.  I  sat  up  many  a  night  with  sick 
horses  endeavouring  to  cure  them.  In  one  or  two  instances 
the  disease  was  checked  for  the  time,  but  in  every  case  it 
returned  afterwards  with  fatal  result.  Out  of  some  seven- 
teen which  were  passing  their  first  summer  at  Shoshong, 
only  one  survived,  which  belonged  to  myself.  A  horse 
which  has  recovered  from  this  sickness  never  gets  it 
again,  and,  according  to  the  colonial  phrase,  he  is  now  a 
*^  salted  horse."  This  term  is  used  in  certificates  and  other 
documents,  and  is  taken  to  mean  a  horse  which  has  re- 
covered from  the  distemper.  It  is  observed  that  when 
breeding  is  carried  on  in  a  district  subject  to  the  annual 
return  of  this  disease,  its  ravages  are  more  severe  in  the 
case  of  horses  introduced  from  a  distance  than  those  reared 
on  the  spot     At  Shoshong,  several  of  the  chiefs  horses  are 


262         NORTH  OF  THB  ORANGE  RIVER. 

from  a  mare  which  he  some  years  ago  bought  fit)m  a  Dutdi- 
man.  In  the  course  of  years  acclimatization  thus  takes 
place,  and  the  disease  does  not  return  every  year.  For 
instance,  some  of  the  districts  which  are  now  famous  for 
rearing  horses  were  unsuited  for  them  in  the  time  of 
Barrow's  visit  to  the  Cape,  some  seventy  years  ago.  He 
mentions  that  in  the  Hautam  the  horse-disease  committed 
great  ravages,  and  that  horses  were  safe  only  on  the  tops 
of  mountains.  Horses  are  now  safe  far  to  the  north  of 
this  district;  there  is  no  annual  return  of  the  disease, 
although  in  a  wet  season  it  is  still  well  known  in  the  colony. 
The  '^salting"  of  the  districts  where  the  disease  has  thus 
become  mitigated,  does  not  stand  good  in  the  interior.  I 
have  known  horses  which  have  had  the  colonial  form  of 
the  disease  die  in  the  interior  of  horse-sickness.  There  are 
some  districts  of  the  Transvaal  where  horses  now  live  with- 
out being  attacked  by  this  disease,  and  in  the  course  of  years 
there  is  little  doubt  that  this  noble  and  useful  animal  will 
live  in  Bechuana-land  and  on  the  Zambese  as  it  now  exists 
in  districts  where  formerly  its  death  was  certain.  Hones 
were  lately  kept  one  summer  on  the  top  of  one  of  the  Bamao- 
gwato  hills,  where  there  was  an  ample  plateau  of  grass,  and 
the  mountain  was  so  surrounded  with  rocks  and  precipices 
that  it  was  possible  to  confine  them  as  in  a  cattle-peo. 
They  were  every  day  driven  down  to  the  water,  fmd  again 
hastily  enclosed  in  their  elevated  sanatarium.  That  year 
not  a  horse  was  lost,  but  then  not  one  of  the  animals  was 
*'  salted."  Next  year  they  might  all  take  the  disease  and 
die.  The  elephant-hunter  likes  a  horse  with  which  he  can 
go  anywhere,  and  at  any  season ;  therefore  he  will  hazard 
a  few  horses  in  a  deadly  district  in  the  hope  that  at  least 
one  will  survive.  In  the  colony  you  can  buy  a  good  horse 
for  £10  or  £15  ;  the  same  animal,  if  salted,  at  Shoshong 
would  fetch  from  £30  to  £75. 


FIRST  YEAK  AT  SHOSHONG.  263 

One  day  Mogomotsi,  a  head  man  among  the  Baman- 
gwato,  and  a  constant  attendant  at  church  and  school,  came 
to  my  house  with  a  miserable-looking  Makalaka  woman, 
who  was  unable  to  stand  erect,  but  crept  on  her  hands  and 
knees.  Mogomotsi  explained  that  as  he  was  coming  down 
the  kloof  or  gorge,  he  found  a  number  of  boys  stoning  the 
poor  woman,  shouting  out  Legoru!  (thief)  at  the  top  of  their 
voices.  It  seemed  the  woman,  in  the  extremity  of  hunger, 
had  stolen  some  sour  milk  from  a  '^  lekuka,"  or  leathern 
bottle,  which  was  hanging  in  the  sun,  and,  being  perfectly 
friendless  and  helpless,  the  cruel  heathen  children  were 
stoning  her  in  the  river.  Turning  to  the  poor  wounded 
creature,  I  found  two  bright  eyes  fixed  upon  me,  half  in 
terror,  half  in  supplication.  She  had  no  relatives.  Her 
friends  or  owners  had  cast  her  off.  They  said  she  might 
as  well  die,  seeing  she  could  no  longer  work  for  them.  I 
noticed  that  in  giving  an  account  of  herself  she  hesitated 
and  stammered  in  her  speech,  and  I  learned  that  she  had 
for  some  time  been  afflicted  with  St.  Vitus's  dance.  Mogo- 
motsi said, — now  that  the  word  of  (Jod  had  come  to  the 
town,  it  ought  to  prevent  such  cruel  deeds,  and  therefore 
he  had  brought  her  to  me.  A  short  time  after,  Sekhome 
made  his  appearance  to  pay  me  a  visit,  followed  by  perhaps 
twenty  of  his  head  men.  I  showed  him  the  woman,  and 
told  him  how  she  had  come  to  me.  "  It  is  well,"  said  the 
chief  carelessly ;  '^  if  you  care  to  feed  such  a  creature  as 
that  you  may  do  so."  "  But  what  I  want  to  know  is  this," 
I  said,  profiting  by  previous  knowledge ;  "  if  this  woman 
should  get  well  under  my  care,  and  her  friends  or  owners, 
who  have  now  cruelly  cast  her  out,  come  and  demand  her 
back  again,  against  her  own  will,  what  side  will  you,  as 
chief  of  the  town,  take  1  I  call  you  to  witness  that  she  has 
been  stoned  with  stones,  having  been  driven  away  by  her 
own  people.    If  she  does  not  wish  to  return  to  them  after 


264  NOBTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

her  recovery,  will  you  sanction  their  compelling  her  to  do 
so  1"  Sekhome  answered  at  once,  ^  The  woman  is  as  good 
as  dead;  if  you  raise  her  up  again  she  is  yours.  Her 
Makalaka  masters  cannot  claim  her  again."  Turning  to 
his  followers,  he  called  them  to  witness  that  the  woman 
was  now  the  missionary's  if  she  lived.  There  was  a  broad 
grin  on  every  face  as  the  attendants  responded  to  Sekhome, 
and  all  seemed  to  think  that  too  many  words  had  been 
wasted  on  such  a  subject.  Mabu  (as  she  called  herself) 
ensconced  herself  at  once  in  the  kitchen,  and  testified  her 
gratitude  by  endeavouring  to  perform  such  little  acts  of 
service  as  she  could  render  without  walking,  which  was 
quite  beyond  her  power.  The  regular  supply  of  food,  and 
some  medicines  given  with  the  view  of  restoring  and 
establishing  her  general  health,  produced  a  favourable 
change,  and  by  and  bye  she  was  able  to  move  a  few  paces. 
For  a  long  time,  however,  her  gait  web  decidedly  zigsag ; 
and  it  required  some  courage  to  pass  her  as  she  steered  her 
uncertain  course  to  the  kitchen  with  a  pot  or  other  vessel 
in  her  hand.  If  Mabu,  however,  came  to  grief  (which  was 
not  often),  there  was  no  louder  or  heartier  laugh  than  her 
own.  She  strove  to  show  her  gratitude  especially  by  ho* 
devotion  to  the  wishes  of  Ma-Willie ;  and  we  were  sincerely 
thankful  that  we  were  able  to  rescue  a  fellow-creature  from 
a  most  cruel  death,  and  introduce  her  to  some  of  the  enjoy- 
ments and  privileges  of  a  Christian  household. 

When  we  first  resided  in  Shoshong  we  had  little  hope  of 
being  able  to  distinguish  the  Bamangwato  by  their  features 
as  one  does  in  a  crowd  at  home.  They  seemed  to  us  to  be  aD 
very  much  alike.  But  gradually  as  our  eyes  got  accustomed 
to  the  colour  of  the  people  and  to  their  dress,  we  began  readily 
enough  to  distinguish  between  the  features  of  one  person 
and  those  of  another.  Indeed,  we  have  since  been  often 
struck  with  the  resemblance  between  certain  Bamangwato 
and  friends  and  acquaintances  in  our  native  country.    I 


FIRST  YEAR  AT  SHOSHONG.  265 

have  sometimes  called  my  wife,  and  without  telling  her  my 
own  opinion,  asked  her  who  a  certain  person  was  like  who 
was  then  standing  at  the  door  1  The  resemblance  has  often 
been  so  striking,  that  it  also  occurred  to  my  wife,  who  at  once 
mentioned  the  name  of  the  friend  or  acquaintance  of  whom 
I  had  been  thinking.  Of  course  we  were  never  guilty  of 
the  indiscretion  of  informing  our  friends  in  England  that 
we  had  found  their  African  counterpart !  I  was  amused 
to  find  that  the  Bechuanas  are  equally  bewildered  at  first 
among  a  number  of  white  men.  **  How  can  I  know  him  1" 
I  have  heard  a  native  frequently  say ;  *'  these  white  people 
are  aU  so  like  one  another."  After  having  resided  for  years 
in  the  town,  I  frequently  heard  discussions  in  passing  which 
showed  that  I  was  not  readily  recognised  by  the  people. 

Our  Hanoverian  colleague  left  again  for  the  south  after 
a  short  residence  on  the  station ;  and  in  the  beginning  of 
1863  Mr.  Price  started  for  supplies  for  our  projected 
journey  into  the  interior.  I  was  thus  left  in  charge  of  the 
station,  and  had  some  months  of  quiet  and  steady  work — 
teaching  during  the  week  and  preaching  on  the  Sunday.  I 
began  to  find  that  my  knowledge  of  medicine  greatly  in- 
creased my  influence  with  the  people,  and  would  be  of  real 
service  to  me  as  a  missionary.  The  successful  treatment 
of  a  case  of  fever  in  a  near  relative  of  Sekhome  became 
widely  known ;  and  I  found  that  the  native  doctors  them- 
selves came  to  me  for  advice.  This  young  woman's  fever 
had  been  improperly  treated ;  and  when  I  was  called  I 
found  that  she  was  considerably  reduced  and  in  high  deli- 
rium. Afraid  that  I  had  come  to  kill  her,  she  darted  past 
me  like  an  arrow,  and  endeavoured  to  make  off.  She 
refused  to  take  the  medicine  I  prescribed  until  her  attend- 
ants told  her  it  was  not  mine  but  Sekhome's.  As  soon  as 
she  came  to  herself  and  found  out  who  had  been  her  bene- 
factor, she  was  as  lavish  of  her  expressions  of  gratitude  as 
fihe  had  formerly  been  of  her  curses. 


266  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

Another  case  illustrates  the  character  of  the  people,  and 
the  maimer  in  which  our  influence  was  extended.  Au  old 
man  with  weak  eyes,  hearing  of  the  cures  of  ophUialnua 
which  had  been  effected  by  simple  lotions,requested  Sekhome 
to  introduce  him  to  me.  **  Be  your  own  introducer,"  said 
the  chief;  "  your  sore  eyes  will  speak  for  you ;  the  teacher 
will  be  sure  to  give  you '  eye-water.' "  The  old  man  made 
his  appearance  at  the  door  of  our  hut,  and  b^ged  for  medi- 
dne  for  his  eyes.  I  gave  him  a  lotion  which  did  not  colour 
the  water  in  the  cup,  and  told  him  how  it  was  to  be  used. 
**  But,  Monare,**  said  the  man,  **  this  is  nothing  but  water/ 
I  told  him  to  try  it  when  he  got  home,  and  he  would  find 
it  was  an  eye-lotion.  He  laid  down  the  cup  in  displeasure, 
remarking  that  he  was  an  old  man,  and  did  not  like  to  be  a 
laughing-stock  for  a  boy — ^meaning  myself.  So  away  be 
went  to  report  in  the  court-yard  how  he  had  been  slighted 
by  the  missionary,  who  would  give  him  nothing  to  use  for 
his  eyes  but  pure  water  in  a  cup.  The  chief  and  several 
other  head  men  at  once  saw  the  mistake  which  he  had  made, 
and  sent  him  back  again.  "  I  am  ordered  to  take  away  your 
water,"  said  the  man  to  me,  meaning  that  he  still  adhered  to 
his  own  opinion,  but  had  been  commanded  to  use  the  lotion 
by  the  chief.  Wishing  to  enjoy  his  surprise,  I  now  poured 
some  into  his  eyes ;  and  as  he  had  been  very  opinionative, 
and  expected  only  pure  water,  the  smartness  of  the  lotion 
was  increased  by  the  suddenness  of  his  surprise.  Hie 
value  of  an  eye-lotion,  in  the  estimation  of  Bechuanas, 
is  in  proportion  to  the  pain  it  gives  in  the  eye.  This  M 
man  went  off  to  the  court-yard  with  the  cup  in  his  hand,  to 
show  everybody  how  the  white  man  had  "  charmed  "  pure 
water,  and  made  it  very  "  bogale  "  or  powerfiiL  ffis  idea 
was,  that  if  there  was  anything  mixed  in  the  water,  it 
would  be  visible. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


THE  MATEBELE  BAID. 


When  the  traders  and  hunters  passed  Shoshong  from 
Moselekatse's  country  at  the  end  of  the  hunting  season  of 
1862y  they  brought  the  report  that  the  Matebele  meditated 
an  attack  upon  the  Bamangwato  as  soon  as  the  rains  should 
faJL  Native  wars  are  seldom  or  nerer  carried  on  in  winter. 
The  waters  are  then  too  scarce  on  the  road ;  the  weather 
is  too  cold ;  and  there  are  few  edible  roots  procurable  on 
the  way,  and  no  fruits  standing  in  their  enemies'  gardens  to 
supply  the  anny  with  food.  Dutchmen  on  the  other  hand, 
as  we  saw  in  the  war  with  the  Batlaping,  never  attack  till 
winter  comes^  in  order  that  they  may  be  able  with  safety 
to  use  their  horse&  Since  the  first  unsuccessful  march  of 
Dutchmen  on  foot  against  Hottentots  near  to  Cape  Town, 
soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  former  in  the  country,  horses 
have  been  regarded  as  indispensable  to  the  success  of  a 
commando  or  war  party.  The  Dutch  carry  their  own 
supplies  of  food  in  their  waggons,  which  always  accompany 
them  on  such  occasions ;  and  the  cold,  which  is  not  much 
felt  by  the  Dutchmen,  almost  paralyses  their  enemies  in  the 
winter  mornings. 

The  past  history  of  the  Bamangwato  gave  them  no 
reason  to  presume  on  the  friendship  of  the  Matebele. 
They  had  dared  to  be  independent — ^had  rescued  their 
cattle  when  in  the  hands  of  machaha^  and  instead  of  sub- 


268  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

mitting  to  pay  tribute  had  put  the  Matebele  tax-gatherers 
to  death.     Still,  twenty  years  had  intervened  since  these 
events  had  taken  place.     Missionaries  were  now  residing 
with  Moselekatse ;  and  peaceful  trading  waggons  passed 
every  year  to   Matebele-land.     Although   Sekhome  had 
opposed   the  entrance   of  Mr.   Moffat  into  Moselekatse's 
country,  both  he  and  his  people  had  lent  a  certain  amount 
of  credence  to  the  messages  which  Mr.  Moffat  had  brought 
back  from  their  old  enemy.     Moselekatse  informed  Se- 
khome once  and  again  that  he  had  laid  his  spear  in  the 
water  (which  is  the  same  as  to  beat  it  into  a  pruning- 
hook) ;  that  the  Bamangwato  might  sleep ;  and  that  their 
cattle-posts  might  without  fear  be  extended  towards  tiie 
confines  of  his  territory.     The  Bamangwato  showed  their 
confidence  in  these  protestations,  by  advancing  as  &r  as 
the  river  Motloutse  with  their  cattle,  which  left  about  two 
days'  journey  between  them  and  the  Batalowta  at  Mahu- 
ku's  town,  who  were  vassals  of  Moselekatse,  and  at  the 
same  time  relatives  and  Mends  of  some  of  the  Bamangwato. 
Between  the  Matebele  country  and  the  Bamangwato  there 
stretched  an  irregular  line  of  Makalaka  towns,  the  inhabi- 
tants of  which  spent  a  most  wretched  existence,  having  the 
difficult  task  to  perform  of  serving  two  masters.     Thej 
were  in  the  power  of  the  Matebele,  who  entered  their  towns 
when  they  chose,  depriving  them  of  their  children  as  soon  as 
they  grew  up  to  be  of  use.     On  the  other  hand,  it  was  their 
interest  to  keep  up   friendly  intercourse  with  their  oM 
masters,  the  Bamangwato,  because  if  Moselekatse's  itile 
became  intolerable,  they  hoped  to  be  received  into  the  town 
of  the  Bamangwato.     Sometimes  in  the  same  Makalaka 
town  there  would  arrive  scouts  frt)m  the  two  opposing 
tribes,  the  Matebele  and  the  Bamangwato,  to  "  hear  the 
news."     In  such  circumstances  the  Bamangwato  messen- 
gers, who  were  often  themselves  Makalaka  by  birth,  were 
passed  off  as  inhabitants  of  a  neighbouring  M^kj^l^tka.  town, 


THE  MATEBELE  RAID.  2G9 

or  if  they  were  Bamangwato,  and  unable  to  speak  the  Seka- 
laka  language,  they  were  hidden  in  a  hut  or  amongst  the 
rocks,  until  the  Matebele  soldiers  left.  The  intolerable 
severity  of  the  Matebele  has  broken  up  this  line  now,  the 
people  having  fled  to  the  Bamangwato  for  protection ;  but 
in  1862  there  was  a  considerable  Makalaka  population 
stretching  along  the  southern  and  south-western  boundary 
of  Moselekatse's  country.  When  the  Bamangwato  herds- 
men advanced  northwards  with  their  cattle,  they  trusted  to 
the  assistance  of  these  Batalouta  and  Makalaka  to  give 
them  secret  warning  of  the  Matebele  plans.  A  little  un- 
easiness had  been  excited  among  the  Bamangwato  by  the 
flight  from  Shoshong  of  an  under-chief  called  Kirekilwe, 
who  was  related  to  the  Batalowta  at  Mahuku's,  and  who 
was  not  long  at  the  latter  place  when  he  passed  on  to 
Moselekatse's  residence.  Sekhome  at  once  said,  when  he 
heard  the  reports  of  war  brought  out  by  the  traders,  "  If 
war  takes  place,  it  will  be  through  the  treachery  of 
Kirekilwe." 

On  Thursday  the  5th  March  definite  intelligence  reached 
Shoshong  that  a  Matebele  army  was  on  its  way  to  attack 
the  Bamangwato.  Already  the  fsuiJiest  advanced  cattle- 
posts  of  the  latteiv  tribe  had  fallen  into  their  hands,  and 
some  of  the  herds  had  been  put  to  death  while  defending 
their  charge.  A  village  of  the  inoffensive  and  industrious 
Machwapong  had  also  been  destroyed,  only  two  of  its  in- 
habitants escaping  to  tell  the  tale.  Such  was  the  story 
told  Sekhome  by  the  dust-covered  messenger,  who  himself 
had  nearly  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  Matebele.  Not 
knowing  what  was  going  on,  I  arrived  in  the  public  court- 
yard while  the  man  was  speaking,  having  finished  my  work 
in  the  school  for  that  day.  Sekhome  recapitulated  the 
items  of  the  unwelcome  intelligence  to  me,  and  to  his  sons, 
who  had  come  with  me  from  schooL 

By  order  of  the  chief  a  man  at  once  ascended  some 


270  NORTH  OF  THE  0BAK6E  RIVEB. 

rocks  at  the  oatskirts  of  the  town,  and  soonded  load  and 
shrill  the  war-cry  of  the  Bamangwato.     Disturbed  in  their 
mid-day  repose,  in  their  skin-dressing  and  karosa-making, 
the  men  of  the  town   obeyed  the  unwonted   sommons, 
and  streamed  into  the  kotla  or  conrt-yard,  some  armed 
with  guns,  and  others  with  ass^ais  and  ox-hide  shields. 
The  news  was  laid  before  the  people,  and  steps  were  at 
once  taken  to  collect  the  cattle  from  the  various  posts, 
with  the  sheep  and  goats.     All  were  to  be  driven  toward 
the  Bamangwato  mountains,  there  being  at  this  season  (d 
the  year  both  grass  and  water  on  its  lofty  plateaus  and 
within, its  hidden  ravines.     While  some  were  despatched 
to  the  posts,  others  were  sent  as  sentinels  to  guard  the 
paths  radiating  from   the  town,  and  a  few  picked  men 
were  sent  forward  as  spies,  to  find  out  the  present  position 
of  the  enemy.     Having  made  aU  such  arrangements,  the 
chief  now  turned  his  attention  to  the  force  available  for 
the  defence  of  the  town.     Some  parties  were  still  in  the 
countiy  at  their  cattle-post  or  their  hunting  station ;  and 
while  their  friends  were  afraid  that  they  would  be  cut  off, 
the  chief  lamented  their  absence  from  their  various  r^ 
ments.     Marching  out  of  the  town  at  the  head  of  his  men, 
Sekhome  held  what  might  be  called  a  review,  although  it 
was  certainly  a  different  spectacle  from  what  is  indicated 
by  that  expression  in  civilized  countries.     There  was  no 
marching,  no  defiling,  no  sham  fighting;  but  the  dad, 
squatted  on  the  ground,  dealt  out  ammunition,  etc^  to 
those  who  required  such  supplies,  inspected  the  fudty 
lock  of  one  gun,  and  the  frail  stock  of  another, — all  the 
while  inquiring  after  the  absent,  conversing  with  those 
around  him,  and  listening  to  the  account  of  the  herdsmen 
who  continued  to  arrive,  and  who  had  fled  for  tJieir  life 
after  leaving  their  charge  in  the  hands  of  the  Matebele. 

In  passing  my  house  after  holding  this  "review,"  Se- 
khome jocularly  asked  me  if  I  were  going  to  help  him 


THE  MATEBELE  RAID.  271 

against  the  Matebele  1  I  replied  in  tbe  negative,  and  re- 
minded him  that  I  was  a  promulgator  of  peace  and  good- 
will amongst  men ;  that  I  had  no  quarrel  with  the  Mate- 
bele, and  that  I  was  persuaded  they  also  would  regard  me 
as  a  neutral  party.  His  reply  was  to  the  effect  that  Mate- 
bele warriors  did  not  make  nice  distinctions,  and  that  the 
colour  of  a  man's  skin  was  not  easily  discovered  in  the 
darkness  of  night.  He  then  informed  me  that  they 
expected  to  be  attacked  during  the  night  or  very  early  in 
the  morning.  "  In  olden  time/*  added  the  chie^  "  whilst 
our  herdsmen  were  stiU  informing  us  of  the  loss  of  our 
cattle,  the  Matebele  themselves  fell  upon  us  before  we 
could  make  any  preparation  for  self-defence ;  but  to-night 
they  will  find  us  ready ;  and  should  they  choose  to  enter 
the  town  from  the  plain  they  will  find  it  empty." 

Sekhome  having  given  orders  that  all  the  women  and 
children  should  take  refuge  on  the  mountains,  and  that  all 
property  should  be  removed  thither  also,  a  strange  and 
melancholy  spectacle  presented  itself  to  the  eye.  The 
several  narrow  paths  leading  to  the  top  of  the  steep  rugged 
mountains  were  for  some  time  densely  crowded  with  those 
fleeing  from  the  bloodthirsty  Matebele.  Many  mothers 
carrying  large  bundles  on  their  heads  had  also  a  child  on 
their  back,  while  the  rest  of  the  family  struggled  up  the 
ascent  before  them.  For  some  time  the  old  men  and 
women  and  servants  and  children  followed  each  other  up 
the  hill  as  closely,  as  people  do  in  Cheapside.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  my  fellow-missionaries,  with  their  families, 
were  then  absent  from  the  station.  That  night  therefore 
Mrs.  Mackenzie  was  the  only  female  in  the  town  of  the 
Bamangwato,  and  our  children  the  only  little  ones  who 
bad  not  been  removed  to  the  mountain  fastnesses. 

People  passed  to  and  fix)  the  whole  night  under  arms ; 
every  one  was  on  the  alert,  and  we  slept  as  little  as  the 
Bamangwato.     About  ten  o'clock  the  young  chiefs  paid  us 


272  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

a  visit,  with  seyeral  of  those  who  attended  church  and 
school — surrounded  by  whom  I  offered  up  prayer  before 
our  door  in  the  bright  moonlight.  I  besought  a  blessing 
on  those  who  fought  for  home  and  family  and  property ; 
and  prayed  that  God  would  frustrate  the  counsels  of  the 
nation  delighting  in  war.  Fully  expecting  that  an  engage- 
ment would  take  place  before  we  met  again,  I  said  to 
Khame  in  parting  that  I  hoped  it  would  be  seen  that  those 
who  feared  God  would  be  found  to  be  the  bravest  in  de- 
fence of  all  that  was  dear  to  them.  During  the  night  we 
collected  our  letters,  portraits,  accounts,  etc.,  in  a  little  box 
so  as  to  be  easily  removed.  My  wife  also  selected  some 
provisions,  which,  with  the  children's  clothes,  were  placed 
in  readiness  in  case  of  sudden  alarm.  Although  we  could 
not  sleep  like  our  children,  we  could  conmiend  them  and 
ourselves  to  the  merciful  protection  of  God,  our  heavenly 
Father,  and  enjoy  the  peace  of  those  whose  minds  are 
stayed  on  Him. 

Friday. — At  length  the  morning  dawned  without  any 
attack  having  taken  place.  The  cattle,  sheep,  and  goats 
from  the  outposts  came  pouring  in,  and  were  hastily  driven 
up  the  mountains.  The  "kloof"  for  a  time  resounded 
with  the  lowing  of  cattle,  the  bleating  of  sheep  and  goats, 
and  the  shouts  of  their  drivers.  This  morning,  in  stating 
his  plan  of  defence,  the  chief  informed  me  that,  should  the 
enemy  make  the  attempt  from  the  plain,  they  were  to  bo 
allowed  to  enter  the  town,  and  to  set  it  on  fire  if  they 
chose ;  that  a  number  of  cattle  were  to  be  kept  in  sight 
(as  a  bait  for  the  Matebele)  on  the  side  of  the  mountain 
behind  Mr.  Price's  house,  and  opposite  my  own ;  and  that 
the  fight  would  therefore  take  place,  as  it  were,  on  our 
premises.  Sekhome  said  he  was  sure  to  beat  them  on  Uiis 
ground ;  and  that  should  they  approach  from  the  plain,  he 
would  not  risk  an  engagement  elsewhere.     He  added  that 


THE  MATEBELE  RAID.  273 

he  was  sorry  our  houses  were  in  the  way,  but  that  he  could 
not  help  it  In  the  event  of  the  Matebele  endeavouring 
to  reach  the  town  from  the  north  side,  which  was  nearest 
the  scene  of  their  depredations,  the  Bamangwato  were  to 
meet  them  on  a  "  haugh "  in  the  heart  of  the  mountains, 
and,  if  beaten,  were  to  fall  back  on  the  vantage-ground 
before  referred  to. 

After  seriously  considering  our  position  in  connection 
with  the  statement  of  Sekhome,  and  taking  into  account 
the  merciless  character  of  the  Matebele,  I  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  it  would  be  best  for  my  family  to  retire  to  the 
mountains  until  the  danger  became  less  imminent.  When 
I  heard  one  cattle-herd  after  another  narrate  the  cowardly 
and  bloody  deeds  which  had  been  enacted  at  the  cattle- 
posts,  my  resolution  was  confirmed.  Whilst  they  remained 
in  the  house  I  could  not  but  feel  uneasy  as  to  the  result 
of  a  midnight  rush  of  such  savages,  every  one  of  whose 
spears  had  repeatedly  drunk  the  blood  of  the  aged  and  the 
decrepit,  the  defenceless  female  and  the  tender  infant.  ^  Let 
Ma-Willie  go  on  the  mountain  beside  my  mother,''  said  the 
sincere  and  affectionate  Khame,  the  eldest  son  of  Sekhome, 
''  and  the  Matebele  will  then  reach  her  only  when  we  are 
all  dead."  I  consented  to  this,  and  my  young  friend 
kindly  furnished  me  with  a  few  men,  who  conveyed  to  the 
top  of  the  mountain  the  articles  which  we  had  resolved 
to  remove  from  the  house.  Accompanied  by  these  people 
and  by  our  servants,  Mrs.  Mackenzie  with  the  newly- 
wakened  and  wondering  children  took  her  departure  at 
early  dawn.  I  afterwards  followed  with  the  cattle,  and 
found  my  little  family  seated  on  the  grass  beneath  a  tree, 
their  nearest  neighbour  being  the  chief  wife  of  Sekhome. 
It  was  Wednesday  evening  of  the  following  week  before 
they  left  their  refuge  on  the  mountain  top ;  and  the  native 
women  remained  for  two  or  three  days  longer. 

S 


274  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

I  cannot  describe  this  life  on  the  mountain  as  having 
been  at  all  pleasant ;  for  the  place  itself  was  well  known 
to  be  a  haant  for  wolves  and  tigers ;  in  &cty  but  a  few 
days  before^  a  sheep  had  been  killed  in  daylight  not  many 
hundred  yards  from  where  Mrs.  Mackenzie  and  the  little 
ones  slept  in  the  open  air.  But  we  heard  nothing  of  such 
unwelcome  visitors,  and  cannot  but  think  that  the  over- 
whelming rush  of  people  into  their  haunts  must  have 
driven  both  wolves  and  tigers  to  seek  a  lair  elsewhere. 

It  was  my  intention  to  remain  in  the  house  during  tli« 
•night,  that,  in  the  event  of  an  attack,  I  might  be  able  to 
inform  the  assailants  that  the  premises  belonged  to  a 
missionary;  but  such  was  my  wife's  description  of  her 
first  night  on  the  mountain,  alone  with  her  little  ones^ 
that  I  considered  it  necessary  afterwards  to  form  one  of 
the  party.  Our  house  was  thus  left  without  an  occupant 
during  the  night ;  but  Mabu,  the  woman  whose  life  wt 
had  saved  a  few  months  before,  slept  on  the  premisea 
Although  able  to  have  gone  with  her  mistress,  she  was 
still  weak,  and  preferred  to  remain  among  our  pots ;  and 
we  allowed  her  to  do  what  she  pleased.  I  have  to  reeori, 
to  the  credit  of  the  Bamangwato,  that  although  Mr.  Price** 
premises  were  now  entirely  deserted,  and  my  own  left  in  tka 
charge  of  a  single  woman,  no  attempt  at  theft  was  mada» 

While  we  were  scaling  the  mountains  on  Bnlqf 
morning,  the  Bamangwato  had  assembled  in  the  iMm^ 
already  referred  to.  It  seems  there  was  a  good  dedlif 
talking  among  the  head  men,  and  Sekhome,  who 
jbeing  chief  is  also  ^  ngaka  "  (doctor  or  sorcerer), 
earnestly  in  reading  his  dice,  and  repeating  his 
tions.  He  was  interrupted  by  Ehame,  who  vmj 
informed  his  father  that  he  was  taking  up  too 
time  with  these  things;  and  that  as  for  himself  1ft 
(Khame)  wished  to  fight  and  have  done  with  it.    Ha 


THE  NEW  YC^'' 

PUBLIC  Lloi' 


i 


THE  MATEBBLE  RAID.  2?5 

chief,  who  felt  proud  of  his  son,  **  pocketed "  the  insult 
which  in  his  priestly  character  he  had  sustained,  and 
immediatelj  ordered  out  the  two  youngest  **mepato'* 
or  regiments,  viz.,  that  of  Khame  and  of  his  brother 
Khamane.  The  people  were  pleased  with  the  conduct  of 
their  young  chief,  and  several  old  men,  who  of  course  did 
not  belong  to  his  regiment,  tried  to  join  it  as  it  moved  off, 
bat  were  seen  by  Sekhome,  and  ordered  back  The  two 
chiefs  next  in  rank  to  Sekhome  however  attached  them- 
-Belves  to  Ehame's  party,  followed  by  their  men. 

So  far  as  I  can  judge,  the  whole  force  under  Khame 
did  not  exceed  two  hundred.  Of  these,  the  majority  had 
guns,  and  about  eight  were  mounted  on  horseback. 
Before  he  rode  off,  Khame  was  addressed  by  Sekhome,  to 
the  effect  that  he  must  not  imagine  hd  was  going  on  an 
elephant  hunt;  that  he  was  marching  agaitst  men,  and 
not  merely  men,  but  Matebele. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  before  the  Bamangwato 
csme  in  sight  of  the  Hatebele,  who,  cdnttary  to  their 
tisual  custom,  had  been  advancing  slowly,  apparently  in  no 
hurry  to  attack  the  town.  They  were  marching  in  three 
companies,  two  of  which  were  together,  and  these  the 
Bamangwato  attacked. 

At  first  the  machaga  (Matebele  soldiers),  who  wer6 
armed  with  spears  and  shields,  made  light  of  the  guns, 
imitating  their  report ;  but  they  soon  changed  their 
mind.  Moving  in  compact  bodies,  they  found  that  every 
l^all  told  on  some  of  them;  so  that,  when  charged  by 
lliose  on  horseback  they  gave  way,  some  of  them  throwing 
down  their  arms  and  fleeing.  These,  however,  were 
rskllied  by  the  others  shouting  to  them  that  they-  were 
disobeying  the  great  law  of  Moselekatse,  which  forbids 
axiy  of  his  warriors  to  run  from  the  enemy.  But  while 
tbe  day  was  thus  with  the  Bamangwato,  the  third  com- 


276  NORTH  OP  THE  ORANGE  RIVE^. 

pany  of  Matebele,  which  had  been  following  up  a  catde- 
track  at  some  distance,  hearing  the  report  of  fire-araUy 
hastened  to  the  scene  of  action,  and  seeing  how  matters 
were  going,  crept  along  under  cover  of  the  tall  grass, 
until  they  got  close  behind  the  Bamangwato.  They 
advanced  until  they  were  discovered,  when  they  sprang  to 
their  feet,  and,  raising  their  wild  war-cry,  rushed  as  one 
man  on  the  forces  of  Khame.  The  retreating  Hatebele, 
Ending  that  their  comrades  had  come  to  their  assistance, 
turned  round  on  their  pursuers ;  so  that  now  the  Baman- 
gwato found  themselves  surrounded  by  the  enemy.  Khame 
shouted  to  his  men  to  keep  together  and  fight  their  way 
out ;  but  his  authority  was  soon  at  an  end.  Many  of  the 
older  Bamangwato  men  had  shown  symptoms  of  fear  from 
the  beginning,  and  fought  only  after  they  saw  that  Khame 
and  his  young  comrades  were  gaining  the  day.  Now, 
when  they  beheld  machaga  on  every  side,  the  old  fear  of 
the  Matebele  seemed  to  return  to  them,  and  they  fled  in 
all  directions,  the  horsemen  doing  their  best  to  cover  their 
retreat.  The  Matebele  did  not  pursue  them  far ;  and  the 
Bamangwato  returned  during  the  night,  leaving  about 
twenty  dead  on  the  field.  According  to  trustworthy  reports 
afterwards  received,  the  loss  on  the  other  side  was  much 
greater. 

Late  on  Friday  night,  Patopato,  a  Matebele  refbgee, 
who  had  long  resided  under  Sekhome's  protection,  and 
who  had  been  sent  as  a  spy  to  observe  the  movements  of 
the  advancing  Matebele,  returned  with  the  message  that 
a  detachment  of  the  enemy  was  on  its  way  round  the 
mountain;  and  that  therefore  the  attack  on  the  town 
might  be  expected  from  the  plain  on  the  south  of  the  town. 

Keeping  watch  over  my  premises,  I  heard  about  mid- 
night the  shrill  war-cry  rise  from  the  rocks  near  the  kotla. 
It  resounded  through  the  deserted  town,  was  re-echoed 


THE  MATEBELE  RAID.  277 

by  the  mountains^  and  caught  up  and  repeated  by  the 
sentinels  on  the  heights.  Every  one  took  it  for  granted 
that  an  engagement  was  at  hand.  My  wife  told  me  that 
she  had  been  surrounded  by  native  women  a  minute  before 
the  cry  was  heard ;  in  a  few  minutes  more  she  found  herself 
alone  with  her  three  children  on  the  mountain  top.  She 
could  see  nothing  in  the  moonlight  but  the  rocks,  into 
whose  dark  caverns  her  companions  had  suddenly  rushed. 

Out  of  many  incidents  which  occurred  in  the  fight^  I 
shall  narrate  one  or  two.  Pelutona,  one  of  the  chief  men 
who  went  with  Ehame^  being  very  fat»  and  on  foot,  soon 
fell  behind  in  the  retreat,  and  would  have  been  killed  but 
for  the  gallant  conduct  of  one  of  his  men.  This  devoted 
servant  put  himself  between  his  master  and  his  pursuers, 
saying  to  the  former,  ^  Now,  take  a  good  breathing,  they 
have  to  kill  me  first,  and  before  they  do  so  you  will  be  well 
rested,  and  able  to  escape."  Instead  of  firing  at  once  at 
the  Matebele  (who  by  this  time  had  a  very  wholesome 
dread  of  the  guns),  this  man  kept  them  at  a  distance  by 
now  and  then  pointing  his  musket  at  them,  until  at  length, 
thinking  they  were  now  too  far  from  the  main  body,  and 
seeing  that  the  Bamangwato  were  no  longer  afraid  of  them, 
the  Matebele  gave  up  the  chase. 

In  the  course  of  the  retreat  of  the  Bamangwato,  one  of 
them  found  himself  at  some  distance  from  the  others,  and 
closely  pursued  by  a  Letebele.  His  gun  was  loaded,  and 
cocked  too,  but  he  had  not  courage  enough  to  enable  him 
to  stand  and  fire ;  so  he  ran  as  fast  as  he  could,  carrying 
his  gun  on  his  shoulder.  To  the  surprise  of  both  pursuer 
and  pursued,  something  having  caught  the  trigger,  bang 
went  the  gun,  its  terrified  bearer  still  running  at  the  top 
of  his  speed.  Whether  the  ball  had  passed  somewhat 
near  to  the  Letebele  behind  is  not  known,  but  at  any  rate 
he  at  once  gave  up  the  pursuit,  evidently  of  opinion  that  he 


278  N0RT5  OF  THE  ORANGE  BIVER. 

was  altogiBther  too  dangerous  a  fellow  who  could  thus  fire 
over  his  shoulder  without  slackening  his  pace. 

Another  man  was  brought  to  me  five  days  after  the 
battle  with  nine  spear  wounds,  all  deep,  and  one  completelj 
maiming  one  of  his  legs.  He  said  he  had  shot  three 
Matebele,  but  was  surrounded  while  re-loading,  his  gun 
taken  from  him,  and  he  himself  repeatedly  stabbed,  and 
lefb  for  dead.  Coming  to  himself  during  the  night,  he 
crawled  out  of  the  way  to  a  place  of  safety,  but  it  took  him 
five  days  to  get  home,  as  he  could  pot  walk.  I  dressed  his 
wounds,  which,  being  all  clean  cuts,  soon  healed,  and  in  a 
few  weeks  the  man  was  quite  well. 

.  Saturday. — ^Ajnong  other  things  which  I  had  conveyed 
to  the  mountain  was  my  medicine-chest,  for  which  I  felt 
sure  I  should  find  some  use.  A  man  called  Ralitau  made 
his  appearance  at  our  retreat  to-day,  canying  a  Letebele 
spear  as  a  trophy.  Pointing  to  his  arm,  I  saw  that  it  had 
been  pierced  above  the  elbow,  and  the  man  explained  that 
it  was  done  by  the  spear  which  he  carried  in  his  hand. 
He  was  one  of  four  men  in  charge  of  a  flock  of  sheep  and 
goats,  which  they  had  driven  to  the  top  of  a  hill  in  the 
peighbourhood  of  the  Machwapong.  On  the  i^proach  of 
the  Matebele,  two  of  his  companions  fled,  and  the  third 
was  killed.  While  endeavouring  to  make  his  escape, 
Balitau  was  confronted  by  a  Letebele.  Both  dischaiged 
their  missiles  at  once.  The  bullet  from  Kalitau's  gun 
missed  the  Lechaga  himself,  but  it  drove  his  shield  oat  of 
his  hand.  The  spear  of  the  Letebele  pierced  Balitan's 
arm,  and  stuck  in  it.  Hastily  pulling  it  out,  the  herdsman 
challenged  the  Letebele  to  combat  with  his  own  spext^ 
exclaiming,  *'  We  have  now  a  spear  each,  and  neither  of  na 
has  a  shield  :  come  on ! "  The  Letebele  declined  the 
combat ;  and  Balitau  was  proud  of  both  spear  and  wonnd. 
.  It  was  confidently  expected  by  the  Bamangwato  that 


.      THE  MA.TEBELE  RAID.  87^ 

to-day  they  would  be  attacked,  and  their  expectations  were' 
confirmed  by  the  report  of  the  scouts  that  the  Matebele 
ifrere  advancing.  It  was  taken  for  granted  that  after 
enemies  whom  they  formerly  despised  as  unworthy  of  their 
steel,  had  met  them  in  the  open  plain,  the  Matebele 
warriors  would  consider  themselves  in  honour. bound  to 
vindicate  their  character  by  destroying  the  town  and 
gardens  of  those  who  had  been  guilty  of  such  temerity. 
But  the  day  and  night  passed,  and  Sabbath  dawned,  and 
^till  the  Matebele  came  not. 

.  Sunday. — I  conducted  divine  service  in  my  house,  the 
congregation  under  arms,  and  momentarily  expecting  the 
news  that  the  attack  had  begun.  Strange  to  say,  I  had 
ijhskt  morning  come,  in  the  course  of  regular  expositions  of 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  to  the  43d  and  44th  verses 
of  the  fifth  chapter  of  Matthew :  "  Ye  have  heard  that  it 
bath  been  said,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  and  hate 
thine  enemy.  But  I  say  unto  you,  Love  your  enemies ; 
bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you^ 
and  pray  for  them  which  despitefully  use  you,  and  persecute 
you."  This  was  the  "  lesson  of  the  day  "  for  my  congrega- 
tion as  they  stood  round  me  in  arms.  I  endeavoured  to  ex- 
plain to  them  that  the  covetousness  and  selfishness,  which 
were  at  the  bottom  of  all  aggressive  wars,  would  yet  be  over- 
come by  the  power  of  Christianity  in  the  world,  teaching 
men  to  love  their  neighbours  as  themselves.  But  in  the 
meantime,  while  tribes  existed  which  still  revelled  in 
bloodshed,  and  lived  after  the  manner  of  beasts  of  prey, 
their  neighbours  must  stand  on  the  defensive.  It  was  as 
reasonable  for  a  man  to  defend  his  person  and  bis  home 
from  the  assegai  of  midnight  assassins  as  from  the!  assault 
of  Uon  or  snake.  God  had  given  the  man  a  stronger  body 
than  the  woman,  that  he  might  work  for  her  and  defend 
ber,     A  man's  mother,  or  wife.  Or  sister,  ought  to  be  reached 


280  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

by  enemies  only  over  his  lifeless  body.  But  the  spirit  of 
the  covetous  man  engaged  in  an  aggressive  war,  and  that 
of  the  Christian  man  defending  his  fiBtmily  and  his  home, 
were  widely  different  The  one  was  a  dark  and  murderous 
spirit,  finding  satisfaction  in  pillage,  in  outrage,  and  in 
bloodshed.  The  other  was  a  noble  and  worthy  feeling,  stem 
to  the  assailant,  and  yet  regretful  because  it  was  neoessaiy 
to  defend  human  life  at  such  a  cost  Aggressors  fought  for 
what  was  before  them,  and  not  their  own,  the  possessions 
and  the  homes  of  their  neighbours.  The  defenders  fought, 
not  for  anything  before  them,  or  in  the  possession  of  others, 
but  in  defence  of  what  was  their  own,  and  dear  to  their 
hearts,  in  their  hojnes  behind  them.  Gloomy  malice  filled 
the  heart  and  blackened  the  visage  of  the  one  combatant ; 
mildness  and  calm  determination  animated  the  other.  Hie 
one  desired  only  the  rain  and  destraction  of  hia  adversaries ; 
the  other  went  forth  to  fight  that  he  might  preserve  and 
build  up,  and  cherished  no  hatred  in  his  breast  towards 
his  misguided  fellow-men.  '*  Thus,"  I  concluded,  **  while 
you  defend  yourselves  and  your  relatives  from  the  Mate- 
bele,  do  not  give  way  to  the  spirit  of  revenge.  Wish  weQ 
to  the  Matebele.  Wish  that  they  may  give  up  war,  and 
visit  you  only  on  peaceful  errands.  Wish  that  the  teaching 
and  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ  may  find  its  way  into  their 
hearts,  and  prevent  them  from  coming  to  desolate  the 
homes  of  their  neighbours  any  more."  We  concluded  by 
an  earnest  prayer  for  the  Matebele,  in  which  I  feel  assured 
I  was  heartily  joined  by  some  of  my  audience.  The  lesson 
of  that  morning  was  communicated  to  many  who  were  not 
assembled  for  worship.  ^  The  teacher  had  said  that  God 
would  bless  and  help  those  whose  minds  were  not  filled 
with  covetousness,  but  who  were  only  defending  their  own 
homes  and  families."  Sekhome  himself  came  and  expressed 
his  pleasure  at  the  **  word "  which  had  been  spoken,  and 


THE  HATEBELE  BAID.  281 

said  that  "  I  must  pray  very  much  that  God  would  help 
them,  and  give  them  the  victory."  The  Bamangwato 
head  men  came  also  to  speak  of  the  bravery  and  cheerful- 
ness of  the  young  chiefs  and  others  who  were  members  of 
the  congregation.  "  We  were  told,"  said  they,  "  that  when 
a  man  became  a  Christian  he  was  bound  not  to  fight  in  any 
cause,  and  that  his  relatives  would  have  to  defend  the 
believer  as  well  as  his  wife  and  family.  We  therefore 
expected  that  all  the  'men  of  the  word  of  God'  would 
have  ascended  the  mountain  with  the  women  and  children. 
But  to-day  those  who  pray  to  God  are  our  leaders." 

^In  forbidding  covetousness,"  said  an  old  man,  ''the 
word  of  God  stops  all  war,  for  all  Bechuana  wars  are  begun 
through  covetousness." 

In  my  own  retirement  I  craved  that  wherever  the  lessons 
which  I  ventured  to  teach  in  the  name  of  Christ  fell  short 
of  what  He  himself  would  have  given  at  Shoshong,  he  would 
mercifully  forgive,  and  lead  His  servant  into  full  obedience 
to  His  will. 

As  one  means  of  putting  an  end  to  this  state  of  sus- 
pense, the  idea  occurred  to  me  this  morning  to  visit  the 
Matebele  camp,  with  the  undefined  hope  that  earnest  ex- 
postulation might  avert  further  bloodshed.  I  communi- 
cated  my  desire  to  Ehame  and  some  other  Bamangwato, 
but  they  unanimously  urged  me  not  to  go ;  that  my  coun- 
sels would  be  unheeded,  and  my  own  life  placed  in  danger. 
They  said  that  when  the  Bamangwato  horsemen  first  made 
their  appearance  on  the  battle-field,  the  Matebele  called 
out,  *'  These  are  '  Makhoa ' "  (white  men),  and  that  some 
might  still  labour  under  this  impression.  Out  of  curiosity 
I  called  two  Matebele  refugees,  and  laid  the  matter  before 
them.  I  asked  them,  if  they  were  still  in  the  Matebele 
armyy  and  while  on  duty  as  sentinels  saw  me  approaching 
their  camp,  what  would  they  do  1  would  they  waylay  me 


282  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

in  the  long  grass,  or  meet  me  openly  and  demand  my  busi- 
ness 1  The  men  seemed  puzzled ;  hesitated  some  time ; 
looked  at  my  face  and  then  at  one  another ;  and  at  last 
replied,  that  they  thought  that  they  would  show  themselves 
to  me  and  demand  my  business.  On  some  one  asking 
them  if  they  had  taken  into  account  the  facts  of  the  late 
engagement,  especially  in  connection  with  the  terror  in- 
spired by  the  horsemen,  the  countenances  of  the  two 
Matebele  assumed  a  rather  embarrassed  aspect,  and  they  at 
length  answered,  "  Your  reception  would  depend  very  macfa 
on  the  individual  character  of  the  advanced  sentinels.'* 
**  Does  the  teacher  know,"  continued  one  of  them,  **  that  it 
is  reckoned  an  honour  among  my  former  comrades  to  kill 
a  white  man )  It  is  only  old  Matebele  that  can  boast  of 
having  done  so.  Then  in  the  event  of  any  investigation 
by  the  chief,  it  would  be  easy  to  say  that  they  thought  you 
were  a  Boer,  or  even  a  native  spy."  Their  manner  as  much 
as  the  words  of  their  answer,  induced  me  to  relinquish  the 
idea,  for  I  was  convinced  that  the  risk  incurred  in  taking 
this  step  was  not  counterbalanced  by  any  well-grounded 
hope  that  my  advice  would  be  taken.  I  remembered  that 
the  army  of  the  Matebele  had  left  their  country  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  expressed,  or  at  any  rate  well  understood, 
wishes  of  Messrs.  Thomas  and  Sykes,  and  I  had  no  grom^ 
for  supposing  that  a  stranger  would  have  more  influence 
with  them  than  their  own  missionaries,  or  that  they  them- 
selves would  be  more  open  to  reason  after  the  irritation  of 
a  fight  in  which  one  half  of  their  army  had  been  forced  to 
retreat  before  enemies  whom  they  despised,  than  they  were 
before  they  left  their  own  country. 

It  rained  heavily  during  the  night  of  Sunday ;  it  was  as 
dark  as  pitch,  and  in  everyway  suitable  for  deeds  of  Uood. 
My  poor  wife  had  to  draw  herself  and  the  children  into 
small  compass  below  the  bush,^  for  the  kaross  aboye  did  not 


THE  MATEBELE  RAID.  2<83 

afford  much  shelter.  I  spent  the  weary  hours  of  the  night 
over  our  fire^  which  consisted  of  one  huge  log,  the  burning 
end  of  which  the  rain  failed  to  extinguish.  Now  was  the 
time  for  the  Matebele  to  attack ;  for  the  fire-arms  of  the 
Bamangwato  got  more  ox  less  out  of  order  through  exposure 
to  the  rain,' especially  the  old-fashioned  flint  muskets,  whose 
owners  had  frequently  nothing  but  a  tattered  handkerchief 
with  which  to  cover  the  lock.  To  the  astonishment  of  all, 
the  night,  which  had  been  one  of  discomfort  and  anxiety, 
passed  over  in  peace.  Early  in  the  morning,  however, 
Sekhome's  advanced  sentinels  brought  the  intelligence  that 
the  Matebele  had  advanced  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains, 
within  a  few  minutes'  walk  of  the  place  where  the  Baman- 
gwato lay  in  waiting  for  thenL  Every  one  was  in  readiness 
for  immediate  action.  The  chief  gave  orders  that  no  cattle 
should  descend  from  the  hill  to  drink.  We  could  distinctly 
hear  the  report  of  the  guns  fired  by  the  Matebele,  being 
those  which  had  fallen  into  their  hands  in  the  fight. 
.  After  an  hour  or  two  spent  in  this  way,  it  became  evident 
that  the  enemy  did  not  intend  to  advance  on  the  town. 
They  were  reported  as  eating  water-melons,  and  destroying 
what  they  could  not  eat  in  the  outlying  Bamangwato  gardens. 
It  was  evident  that  they  were  ready  again  to  fight  in  the 
open  plain ;  and  it  was  equally  plain  that  they  were  afraid 
to  venture  into  the  narrow  passes  leading  into  the  town  of 
the  Bamangwato.  In  a  short  time  the  report  came  that 
the  enemy  was  moving  otf,  and  afterwards  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  they  were  retracing  their  own  steps,  and  not, 
as  it  was  imagined,  moving  round  the  mountain  to .  the 
more  accessible  side  of  the  town.  The  news  had  a  wonder- 
ful effect  in  brightening  up  the  countenances  of  the  Ba- 
mangwato, although  they  were  not  without  suspicion  that 
the  reU^at  was  a  feint ;  and  that,  as  in  olden  time,  the 
Matebele  would  return  when  they  thought  their  enemies 


284  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

would  be  off  their  guard.  Men  were  therefore  selected  for 
the  purpose  of  following  the  enemy  and  watching  their 
movements.  They  were  to  sleep  where  they  slept,  and  in 
the  event  of  their  returning  to  the  attack,  were  to  hasten 
before  them  and  inform  the  chief.  On  Tuesday  morning 
a  second  party  was  sent  off ;  and  in  the  afternoon  the  first 
returned,  bringing  the  intelligence  that  the  Matebele  were 
still  retreating.  On  Wednesday,  it  was  ascertained  that 
the  oxen,  sheep,  and  goats  which  they  had  secured,  and 
which  had  remained  at  a  distance  under  strong  guards,  were 
being  collected  by  their  captors,  who  were  now  in  full  re- 
treat homewards.  Feeling  convinced  that  all  danger  was 
now  over,  we  that  evening  re-entered  our  house,  thankfblly 
cherishing  the  hope  that  the  disturbance  and  anxiety  were 
now  at  an  end. 

On  Thursday  the  message  was  brought  to  Sekhome, 
that  a  Letebele,  found  without  spear  or  shield,  had  been 
taken  prisoner,  and  that  they  awaited  his  orders  as  to  his 
fate.  The  order  was  that  he  should  be  put  to  death. 
I  learned  this  from  Khame,  who  said  the  men  who 
were  to  kill  him  had  already  left  the  town.  I  imme- 
diately sought  the  chief,  but  was  kept  waiting  some  time* 
At  length  he  appeared,  and  I  expostulated  with  him  both 
as  to  the  cruelty  and  bad  policy  of  such  conduct.  He  at 
once  despatched  a  messenger  to  countermand  his  order, 
professing  that  he  had  given  me  the  man's  life.  But  what 
was  my  regret  while  I  was  still  in  the  courtyard  to  see  the 
men  first  despatched  advance  into  the  kotla,  and  annonnoe 
that  the  chiefs  command  had  been  obeyed.  The  poor 
defenceless  wretch  had  been  put  to  a  cruel  death,  althoa^!, 
as  I  afterwards  learned,  he  pleaded  with  pitiable  earnest- 
ness that  his  life  should  be  spared.  I  was  gratified  to 
find  that  all  who  attended  church  were  opposed  to  sach 
revengeful  bloodshed.     Indeed,  it  was  with  the  idea  that 


THE  MATEBELE  RAID.  285 

I  might  be  able  to  save  the  man's  life  that  the  young  chief 
had  informed  me  of  the  circumstance.  This  was  certainly 
acting  in  the  spirit  of  our  last  Sunday's  discourse. 

In  this  incursion  the  warriors  of  Moselekatse  more 
than  sustained  their  character  for  bloodthirstiness.  They 
butchered  old  men,  women,  and  little  children,  at  the 
Bamangwato  cattle-posts.  Young  women  and  boys  they 
spared,  driving  them  as  captives ;  the  former  to  cultivate 
their  gardens  and  the  latter  to  be  trained  as  ''  machaga," 
or  warriors. 

About  a  fortnight  after  the  departure  of  the  Matebele, 
Sekhome  organized  and  secretly  despatched  a  party  of  his 
best  men  to  "  lift"  the  cattle  from  posts  lying  to  the  south- 
east of  the  Matebele  country.  Of  course  it  was  a  danger- 
ous expedition,  it  being  very  easy  for  the  Matebele  to  have 
intercepted  them  on  their  return.  But  the  Bamangwato 
relied  on  being  out  of  reach  before  the  army,  which  they 
knew  had  been  sent  for  a  time  to  the  north-west  of  Mose- 
lekatse's  country,  could  be  led  against  them.  And  in  this 
bope  they  were  not  disappointed.  After  more  than  a 
month's  absence  they  arrived  with  the  oxen  of  two  large 
Matebele  posts,  and  a  drove  of  sheep  and  goats.  The  chief 
^ept  this  business  a  secret  from  me,  as  also  from  Khame ; 
it  being  given  out  that  the  men  had  gone  to  collect  the 
Bushmen  who  had  been  scattered  by  the  Matebele.  On 
the  arrival  of  the  party,  Sekhome,  who  professed  to  be 
ashamed  to  come  himself,  sent  Khame  with  the  message 
that  he  knew  I  should  blame  him ;  but  that  he  wished  to 
obtain  something  in  place  of  the  cattle  which  the  Mate- 
bele had  stolen  from  him.  On  this  occasion  Khame  re- 
fused what  must  have  been  to  him  a  most  tempting 
present,  in  the  shape  of  a  handsome  number  of  the  stolen 
cattle.  He  told  his  father  that  he  disapproved  of  the 
expedition,  and  would  not  share  its  spoils. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

J0UBNS7  TO  HATEBKLE  LAND. 

On  the  amval  of  my  friends  Messrs.  Price  and  J.  S. 
Moffat  at  Shoshongy  in  the  end  of  Jane  1863,  onr  consul- 
tations were  not,  as  we  had  at  one  time  hoped  they  would 
be,  concerning  the  mission  to  the  north  of  the  TaBt- 
bese,  but  with  reference  to  the  continuance  of  the  mis^ 
sion  already  established  among  the  Matebele.  It  was 
nearly  a  year  since  we  had  heard  from  Messrs.  Sykes 
and  Thomas,  the  missionaries  at  Inyate,  and  their  last 
letters  had  contained  the  moomfal  intelligence  of  the 
death  of  Mrs.  Thomas  from  fever.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  J. 
Moffat  were  extremely  anxious  to  proceed  to  the  assist^ 
ance  of  their  friends;  but  the  disturbed  state  of  die 
country  presented  an  obstacle  to  their  proceeding  alone. 
After  protracted  deliberation, ''  it  was  thought  necenaiy," 
as  I  wrote  to  the  Directors  at  the  time,  *^  temporarily  to 
reinforce  the  Matebele  mission  at  this  unsettled  junctore, 
on  account  of  the  indifferent  health  of  some  members  of 
the  mission,  and  the  contemplated  absence  of  others  from 
the  scene  of  their  labours.  The  Directors,  I  thou^t^ 
would  agree  that  it  would  be  very  unadvisable  for  any  one 
family  to  be  left  alone  in  such  a  countiy  as  the  Matebele ; 
and  it  was  in  order  to  prevent  this  possibility  that  I 
undertook  the  present  journey.  My  own  health  was  very 
good  J  and  it  was  some  time  since  Mrs.  Mackenzie  had  had 


JOUBNEY  TO  MATEBBLE  LAND/  287 

an  attack  of  fever.  We  were  therefore  happy  in  making 
the  preisent  attempt ;  hoping  that,  having  assisted  the 
Matebele  mission  to  weather  a  storm,  our  own  path  for 
the  fbture  would  be  made  plain  to  us."  In  fact,  I  was  not 
without  hope  that  I  might  afterwards  meet  with  such 
encouragement  as  would  induce  me  to  remain  in  the  Mate^ 
bele  country,  or  to  visit  some  of  the  tribes  beyond  it. 
Although  it  was  abundantly  evident  that  the  traditional 
war  policy  of  the  Matebele  was  not  to  be  given  up  all  at 
once  by  the  chief  and  people,  I  also  hoped  to  be  able  to 
represent  to  Moselekatse  some  of  the  evil  consequenced  of 
war  with  the  Bamangwato,  in  stopping  communication 
between  the  Matebele  and  the  south,  from  which  quartei^ 
they  were  annually  visited  by  European  traders.  Sekhome 
gave  me  a  half-defiant  message  to  Moselekatse,  in  which 
he  compared  himself  to  a  certain  insignificant  but  pertina- 
cious insect)  well  known  to  both  Matebele  and  Bamant 
gwata ;  but  I  consulted  my  own  feelings  and  Sekhome's 
interests  by  not  delivering  it. 

We  left  Sho^ong  about  the  middle  of  July.  We  had 
not  gone  two  days  from  the  station  when  we  met  a  second 
war-party  of  Bamangwato,  who  were  driving  before  them 
sheep  and  goats  which  they  had  captured  at  the  Matebele 
outposts.  We  were  afraid  that  this  pertinacity  on  the 
part  of  Sekhome  to  secure  something  in  place  of  his  stolen 
cattle,  might  bring  down  the  signal  vengeance  of  the  haughty 
Zulu  chief,  who  was  not  accustomed  to  such  reprisals  from 
a  Bechuana  adversary.  At  Palatshwe,  about  three  days 
from  Shoshong,  we  came  to  the  large  enclosures  which  the 
Matebele  had  built  for  the  reception  of  the  stolen  cattle  of 
the  Bamangwato.  Here  Mangwane,  the  son  of  Mosele^ 
katse,  had  his  headquarters,  while  the  Matebele  forces  were 
scouring  the  country.  During  the  rest  of  our  journey,  not 
a  day  passed  that  we  did  not  see  in  these  fresh  cattle-pens 


288  NOBTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

along  the  road,  the  evidence  of  the  recent  presence  in  the 
country  of  the  warlike  people  to  whom  we  were  journey- 
ing. 

The  country  lying  to  the  north-east  of  Shoshong  is  inter- 
sected by  a  number  of  rivers  which  are  all  tributaries  cS 
the  Ouri  or  Limpopo.  The  Mahalapye  flows  close  to  the 
Bamangwato  mountains,  and  was  the  first  of  these  rivers 
which  we  crossed.  TheMitle  and  the  Teuane  were  only  a 
few  miles  beyond ;  and  the  Lotsane,  with  its  bed  of  slate 
rock,  was  the  next  river  on  our  route.  To  our  east  the 
tsetse  is  found  over  a  wide  expanse  of  country,  leavings 
however,  many  unoccupied  tracts  within  the  radius  of  its 
habitat.  At  a  place  called  Tshakane  the  fly  approaches 
close  to  the  waggon  road ;  indeed  the  Bamangwato  asserted 
it  was  on  the  road  itself.  But  we  saw  nothing  of  it^  and 
it  had  probably  shifted  its  quarters  with  the  game,  which 
of  course  every  year  -became  less  numerous  on  firequented 
highways.  Near  to  Senile  we  passed  the  ruins  of  a  village 
whose  inhabitants  had  been  killed  or  scattered  by  the 
Matebele.  Not  a  soul  was  visible  in  the  countiy — not  a 
fresh  human  foot-mark  on  the  sand.  The  broad  trail  of  the 
Matebele  soldiers  had  swept  all  life  before  it. 

Before  reaching  Seribe  river,  which  joins  the  Motloatse 
a  short  distance  below  the  road,  a  troop  of  buflfiEdoes  passed 
our  mid-day  resting-place.  Some  of  the  men  seized  their 
guns  and  fired,  but  without  result  The  dogs  gave  chase 
and  caught  a  calf,  whose  bellowing  we  soon  heard  in  the 
forest.  It  was  of  considerable  size,  which  I  suppose  ex- 
plains why  its  mother  did  not  return  to  defend  it  or  to 
seek  it.  When  we  came  up  to  it,  Mr.  Moffat's  dogs  and 
my  own  were  holding  fast  the  indignant  animal  in  spite  of 
its  violent  efforts  to  get  away.  A  bullet  carefidly  f^Uiced 
put  an  end  to  the  struggle,  and  supplied  the  party  with 
some  veal.     This  is  a  kind  of  meat  which  natives  do  not 


JOUENEY  TO  MATEBELE  LAND.  289 

much  relish.  They  seem  to  regard  it  pretty  much  as  they  do 
unripe  fruits,  which  are  good  enough  in  a  season  of  scarcity, 
but  much  improved  if  allowed  to  arrive  at  maturity.  In 
hunting  buffaloes  the  object  is  to  secure  a  cow  in  good  con- 
dition,  the  bull  buffalo  being  very  dry  and  tough  eating. 
A  troop  of  buffaloes  pursued  by  mounted  huntsmen  keep 
together  for  a  short  distance,  but  gradually  the  old  bulls 
drop  to  one  side  under  the  shelter  of  the  thick  bushes. 
These  grim-looking  animak  remain  here  in  ambush,  and 
spring  out  upon  the  unwary  hunter,  should  he  unfor- 
tunately pass  that  way.  But  experienced  men  keep  their 
eye  on  such  awkward  customers,  and  give  them  a  wide  berth 
by  not  following  exactly  upon  the  track  of  the  buffaloes. 

I  once  rode  seventy  miles  to  attend  a  Dutch  hunter,  who,' 
strange  to  say,  had  been  not  only  way-laid  but  shot  by  one 
of  these  old  buffalo  bulls.  It  rushed  from  behind  a  bush 
upon  the  Dutchman,  throwing  both  horse  and  rider  to  the 
ground  with  the  fury  of  its  first  attack.  It  gored  the  horse 
to  death  before  it  could  recover  its  feet,  and  next  attacked 
the  rider.  The  Dutchman  says  he  lay  as  flat  as  he  could 
on  the  ground,  in  order  to  prevent  the  curved  horns  of  the 
buffalo  from  getting  below  him  to  toss  him.  Whilst  irre- 
solute what  to  do  next,  the  buffalo  unfortunately  trod  upon 
the  Dutchman's  gun  as  it  lay  on  the  ground,  and  some 
twigs  having  got  about  the  hair-trigger,  the  gun  went  off, 
and  the  contents  of  the  barrel  went  through  the  Dutch- 
man's bent  arm,  entering  above  the  elbow,  and  passing  out 
below  it  The  buffalo  was  frightened  by  its  own  exploit, 
and  left  the  wounded  hunter,  with  his  gun  and  saddle  and 
wounded  arm,  to  make  his  way  on  foot  to  his  waggon. 
Several  splinters  of  bone  came  away,  and  the  man  again 
recovered  the  use  of  his  arm*  I  learned  that  when  the 
pain  became  very  great  with  the  motion  of  the  waggon,  the 
Dutchman  had  been  in  the  habit  of  slaughtering  a  goat,  of 

T 


290  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

« 

which  he  had  a  flock  with  him,  extracting  its  still  warm 
stomach,  and  inserting  the  wounded  arm  into  it.  The 
"  trekking  "  or  drawing  was  described  by  the  man  as  very 
severe  as  soon  as  the  arm  was  introduced  into  this  strange 
poultice  of  herbs.  I  was  informed  that  the  stomach  of  a 
sheep  had  not  the  same  virtue ;  and  in  explanation  was 
reminded  that  the  goats  fed  upon  bushes,  many  of  which  had 
medical  properties,  while  the  sheep  contented  itself  witii 
grass.  That  this  application  removed  acute  pain  I  had  the 
fullest  evidence  in  the  case  of  this  hunter.  I  found  also 
that  his  companions  were  applying,  as  an  ordinary  dressing 
to  the  wound,  a  poultice  composed  of  certain  proportions  of 
ostrich-egg  and  flour,  which  seemed  to  answer  very  well. 
On  the  whole,  I  have  a  much  higher  idea  of  the  Dutch 
appliances  to  external  wounds  than  their  prescriptions  for 
internal  maladies. 

I  was  detained  a  little  behind  Mr.  J.  S.  Moffat  while 
disposing  of  the  young  buffialo  behind  my  spare  waggon,  so 
that  it  was  nearly  sunset  before  we  came  to  the  Seiibe. 
Here  we  were  fated  to  spend  the  night.  In  pulling  the 
waggon  up  the  steep  bank  of  the  river,  the  gear  of  the  oxen 
gave  way  repeatedly,  and  the  waggon  rolled  back  into  the 
deep  sand  of  the  dry  river  bed.  Whilst  patiently  repairing 
these  accidents,  both  men  and  oxen  were  startled  by  the  load 
roar  of  the  lion  in  our  vicinity.  Bringing  the  front  of  the 
team  round  to  the  waggon,  I  made  the  two  leaders  &st  to 
the  wheel,  so  that  the  team  could  neither  pull  the  waggon 
nor  break  away.  Whilst  we  were  doing  this,  a  yoong 
ox,  which  had  been  standing  loose,  made  off  through  the 
bushes.  As  there  was  no  response  among  the  men  to  my 
request  for  volunteers  to  bring  it  back,  I  had  myself  a  good 
chase  in  the  moonlight  after  '^  Bleisman  "  before  he  would 
consent  to  return  to  the  waggon.  The  wolves  (hyepa^ 
abounded  in  the  river,  so  we  lighted  a  large  fire  near  the 


JOURNEY  TO  MATEBELE  LAND.  291 

^nd  of  the  little  waggon,  which  was  still  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river,  lest  we  should  be  robbed  of  our  veal.  We 
lighted  also  another  fire  close  to  the  front  of  my  own 
waggon,  the  entrance  to  which  was,  owing  to  the  depth  of 
the  river  bank,  on  a  level  with  the  ground.  Seated  at  this 
fire  we  had  our  usual  evening  worship,  and  the  whole  night 
was  spent  in  watchfulness.  I  taught  my  men  some  new 
psalm-tunes,  by  way  of  passing  the  tedious  hours,  till 
daylight  brought  complete  safety.  The  lion  no  doubt 
found  his  supper  in  our  neighbourhood ;  but  in  the  morn- 
ing none  of  us  was  sufficiently  curious  to  seek  to  discover 
what  had  formed  his  meal 

The  Motloutse  river,  which  we  next  crossed,  had  on 
its  bank  the  ruins  of  the  most  advanced  cattle-post  of  the 
Bamangwato,  and  the  first  which  had  fallen  into  the  hands 
of  the  Matebele  in  the  late  raid.  Crossing  the  Shashe  and 
the  Tatie,  we  were  now  in  the  heart  of  what  was  until 
recently  one  of  the  most  famous  resorts  of  the  elephant. 
iBimense  troops  still  visit  this  district  every  year;  and 
hunters  here  loiter  to  fill  up  their  waggons  at  the  end  of 
their  hunt,  or  to  draw  fresh  blood  at  the  commencement  of 
a  new  season,  and  while  they  are  on  their  way  to  more  dis- 
tant fields.  Near  to  the  confluence  of  the  Impakwe  and 
Bamokwebane,  there  are  some  acacia  thickets  into  which 
no  hunter  can  follow  the  elephant,  and  towards  which  the 
sagacious  creatures,  when  alarmed,  at  once  direct  their 
course.  Not  long  ago  a  hunter  shot  six  elephants  in  one 
day  in  this  district.  He  was  on  horseback,  and  carried  a 
gun  with  an  immense  bore,  shooting  four  bullets  to  the 
pound  of  lead.  On  this  occasion  he  was  accompanied  by 
a  young  Scotchman,  then  taking  his  first  lessons  in  elephant- 
hunting.  Following  a  wounded  elephant  into  a  dense 
thicket,  this  young  hunter  was  unhorsed  by  another  of  the 
troop,  and  narrowly  escaped  being  killed.     The  enraged 


292  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

animal  stood  for  some  time  over  the  wounded  horse  and 
the  rider,  lying  low  in  the  dust,  and  then,  apparently 
satisfied,  took  its  departure. 

Another  party,  headed  by  Mr.  Hartley,  a  well-known 
hunter,  whose  locks  have  grown  grey  on  the  elephant 
•*  spoor,"  also  got  into  circumstances  of  extreme  danger 
in  this  locality.  It  was  at  the  beginning  of  the  sea- 
son, and  the  usual  caution  was  not  observed  in  the 
general  anxiety  to  secure  some  of  the  troop.  This  teme- 
rity led  some  of  the  hunters  into  the  dense  thorn  bushes, 
through  which  sometimes  there  was  only  the  single 
path  which  the  bulky  elephants  made  as  they  fled 
before  them.  In  such  a  thicket,  and  only  a  few  yards  in 
front  of  them,  an  elephant  cow  raised  its  shrill  shriek  of 
rage,  and  with  uplifted  trunk  rushed  towards  them.  One 
huntsman  glided  from  the  saddle,  and  crept  away  under  the 
bushes,  leaving  his  horse  to  take  its  chance.  Others  who 
were  not  so  far  in  advance  hastily  retreated.  The  ele- 
phant made  at  once  for  the  foremost  huntsman.  One 
glance  assured  this  gentleman  that  his  only  hope  was  in 
retreat,  there  being  no  outlet  whatever  in  front  of  him. 
Wheeling  round  in  an  instant,  he  dug  his  spurs  into  his 
horse  and  made  a  rush  for  life.  For  a  moment  it  appeared 
he  was  too  late.  The  trunk  of  the  elephant  was  over 
him ;  but,  sure  of  her  victim,  instead  of  seizing  him  at 
once,  she  preferred  to  strike  him  with  her  tusk.  She 
fortimately  missed  her  first  blow ;  but  was  about  to  repeat 
the  stroke,  when,  the  bushes  being  now  a  little  less  dense, 
Mr.  Hartley  observed  the  imminent  peril  of  his  friend,  and 
bravely  hastened  to  his  assistance.  Riding  close  up  to  the 
elephant,  and  discharging  the  contents  of  his  gun  in  her 
side,  he  galloped  off  in  another  direction.  The  well- 
executed  ruse  was  successM ;  the  attention  of  the  elephant 
being  withdrawn  from  the  hunter  who  was  within  her 


JOURNEY  TO  MATEBELE  LAND.  293 

power,  and  directed  to  her  new  assailant,  who  having  thus 
saved  his  friend's  life,  made  good  his  own  escape  also. 

In  the  beginning  of  August  we  crossed  the  Inkwezi 
river,  and  halted  near  Mahuku's  town.  Instead,  however, 
of  presenting  the  usual  indications  of  a  large  and  industrious 
population,  the  whole  country  looked  forlorn  and  desolate. 
The  long  grass  was  waving  over  the  untrodden  paths 
which  led  to  the  gardens  from  the  town.  The  com, 
pumpkins,  and  melons,  and  other  fruits,  were  standing  un- 
harvested  in  the  fields.  I  visited  the  town  itself,  which 
had  been  a  few  months  before  the  scene  of  life  and  acti- 
vity, and  found  only  charred  ruins,  with  here  and  there 
the  skeletons  of  some  of  its  former  inhabitants.  Soon  after 
our  arrival,  a  handful  of  Batalowta  descended  to  our 
waggons  from  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountain,  which  had 
now  become  their  abode  since  their  escape  from  the  general 
ruin  of  their  people.  From  them  we  heard  the  confirma- 
tion of  reports  which  we  had  previously  received,  con- 
ceming  the  massacre  of  this  tribe  by  their  masters,  the 
Matebele. 

When  Moselekatse  first  approached  their  country  from 
the  south,  the  division  of  the  Batalowta  under  Makobe  sub- 
mitted to  him  as  his  vassals.  On  his  death,  Makobe  was 
succeeded  by  Mahuku,  who  continued  his  obedience  to 
Moselekatse.  At  the  same  time  he  kept  up  constant  com- 
munication with  his  friends  and  relatives  at  Shoshong,  and 
his  brother  Kirekilwe  deserted  Moselekatse,  and  fled  to 
Sekhome.  Kirekilwe  lived  under  this  chief  for  several 
years;  and  was  a  person  of  consideration  in  the  town. 
He  seems  however  to  have  been  animated  by  an  insatiable 
love  of  change  or  adventure;  for  soon  after  I  took  up 
my  residence  at  Shoshong,  Elirekilwe  fled  back  again  to 
his  brother  Mahuku.  It  was  said  that  he  suggested 
to  Moselekatse  the  facilities  for  making  a  raid  upon  the 


294         NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

Bamangwato  cattle-posts.  "Did  not  the  chief  hear  the 
cattle  of  Sekhome  in  the  still  evenings  1"  it  was  asked. 
"  Their  cattle  had  advanced  so  close  to  hb  country  that  if 
the  chief  listened  he  would  hear  them."  The  bait  was 
too  strong  for  Moselekatse.  He  had  made  promises  to 
live  at  peace,  but  had  never  kept  them ;  to  attack  Sekhome 
would  only  be  throwing  off  the  mask.  Had  not  Sekhome 
long  ago  killed  forty  of  his  warriors,  and  was  the  vengeance 
of  Moselekatse,  although  long  deferred,  not  to  £ei1I  1  So  the 
war  against  Sekhome  was  agreed  upon  by  Moselekatse, 
but  kept  secret  from  the  missionaries.  They  saw  the 
preparations  for  war;  they  knew  when  the  army  left; 
but  there  was  not  a  soul  who  dared  to  inform  them  of  its 
destination,  because  Moselekatse  had  said  they  must  be 
kept  ignorant  until  after  the  war-party  had  started. 

One  division  of  the  army  was  ordered  to  pass  the  town 
of  the  Batalowta,  and  to  obtain  guides  from  among  the 
people  of  Mahuku,  who  would  show  the  cattle-posts  of  the 
Bamangwato,  and  the  best  paths  into  their  country.  But 
the  Batalowta  remembered  they  were  Bechuanas,  although 
vassals  of  Moselekatse.  Mahuku  and  his  people  excused 
themselves  from  such  traitorous  service.  They  said  they 
were  faithfiil  to  Moselekatse  as  vassals  and  as  herds- 
men. But  they  declined  to  guide  his  soldiers  to  attack 
their  own  countrymen.  Even  the  restless  and  meddling 
Kirekilwe  refused  to  accompany  the  army  against  the  town 
whose  hospitality  he  had  so  recently  enjoyed.  What  was 
to  be  donel  The  whole  army  halted  while  messengers 
hastened  back  to  inform  Moselekatse  of  the  unexpected 
conduct  of  the  Batalowta.  The  chief's  reply  to  the  leaders 
of  the  war-party  was  simply  that  the  army  must  go  on  and 
bring  Sekhome's  cattle.  At  the  same  time,  however,  be 
ordered  another  body  of  men  to  go  to  Mahuku's,  and  thexe 
wait  for  the  return  of  the  army  from  Shoshong.     They 


JOUBNEY  TO  MATEBELE  LAND.  295 

were  to  live  in  open  firiendship  with  the  Batalowta ;  but 
as  soon  as  the  army  returned  they  were  to  be  ready  to 
execute  orders  which  they  should  then  receive.  The  in- 
structions of  the  chief  were  faithfully  obeyed.  While  the 
rest  of  the  Matebele  army  were  toiling  through  an  unknown 
country,  enduring  hunger  and  thirst,  their  comrades  at 
Mahuku's  were  living  in  continual  revelry.  Every  night 
they  assembled  for  beer-drinking  and  for  dancing.  The 
surrounding  mountains,  so  silent  when  I  gazed  upon  them, 
re-echoed  the  deep  voices  of  the  soldiers  and  the  shrill 
notes  of  the  Batalowta  women,  as  they  joined  in  the  song 
and  in  the  dance. 

After  weeks  spent  in  this  manner,  their  comrades  re- 
tamed  from  the  raid  upon  Shoshong.  They  sent  forward 
a  message  to  Moselekatse  to  say  that  they  had  brought 
some  Bamangwato  cattle;  but  their  sufferings  had  been 
great  for  want  of  guides,  and  the  Bamangwato  were 
assisted  by  white  men,  from  whose  shooting  they  had 
suffered  loss.  Confirmed  in  his  belief  that  he  had  been 
betrayed  by  the  Batalowta,  Moselekatse  took  steps  to 
wreak  on  them  his  heaviest  vengeance.  He  told  the  com- 
manders of  the  war-party  that  they  were  not  to  see  his 
fEU^  until  they  had  destroyed  Mahuku  and  Elireldlwe,  and 
every  one  belonging  to  them.  This  6rder  was  carried  out 
in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  given.  The  commanders  of 
the  army  sent  for  the  two  brothers,  professedly  to  receive 
the  cattle,  sheep,  and  goats  which  Moselekatse  was  to 
intrust  to  their  care.  At  the  same  time  the  Matebele  in 
the  town  were  secretly  informed  that  they  must  be  ready 
to  take  their  part  in  the  tragedy  which  was  about  to  be 
enacted.  The  Batalowta  were  completely  deceived.  Only 
Kirekilwe  seems  to  have  suspected  foul  play,  and  therefore 
secreted  a  battle-axe  below  his  mantle.  Several  young 
men  followed  Mahuku  without  invitation,  hoping  to  be 


296  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

"treated"  by  their  "balekane"  or  comrades  among  the 
Matebele  soldiers.  They  advanced  unsuspectingly  into  the 
heart  of  the  camp,  greeting  the  soldiers,  and  being  greeted 
in  return.  But  in  an  instant  the  guests  became  the  vic- 
tims. In  vain  they  craved  for  mercy;  they  were  over- 
powered by  their  betrayers,  and  put  to  death  with  every 
indignity  and  cruelty  of  which  savages  could  conceive. 
But  before  he  died,  Kirekilwe  had  killed  one  and  wounded 
another  of  the  soldiers. 

The  Batalowta  women,  working  in  their  gardens,  heard 
that  day  a  dreadM  noise  in  the  camp  of  the  Matebele ; 
sounds  were  borne  to  their  ears  so  like  the  cries  of  the 
d3dng,  and  the  shouts  of  their  murderers,  that  they  fled 
from  the  gardens  and  hastened  home  to  give  the  alarm. 
They  learned  that  their  chief  and  some  of  their  head  men 
had  gone  to  the  camp ;  but  what  of  that )  There  sat  their 
Matebele  guests  as  merry  as  ever,  in  friendly  conversation 
with  the  men  who  had  remained  at  home.  The  women 
whispered  their  fears  and  misgivings  to  some  of  their 
Mends ;  but  no  heed  was  given  to  what  was  regarded  as 
an  idle  tale.  They  were  told  that  they  had  heard  nothing 
but  the  sounds  of  rejoicing  in  the  camp,  mingled  with  the 
lowing  of  the  Bamangwato  cattle,  and  the  bleating  of  their 
sheep  and  goats.  But  by  and  bye  the  merry  mood  of  their 
Matebele  guests  seemed  to  abate ;  in  spite  of  themselves 
they  looked  uneasy,  and  directed  eager  glances  towards 
the  outside  of  the  town ;  meanwhile  striving  to  dissemUe 
and  to  carry  on  the  playful  talk.  In  an  instant  they 
started  to  their  feet ;  the  friends  now  changed  into  furies, 
the  laughing  guests  into  betrayers  and  murderers.  They 
stabbed  each  man  his  host,  each  soldier  the  man  whose 
comrade  or  particular  friend  he  had  been.  Their  eager 
glances  had  been  in  expectation  of  a  signal  oatside 
the  town,  to  notify  that  it  had  been  surrounded  with 


JOURNEY  TO  MATEBELE  LAND.  297 

Matebele  soldiers.  Now  the  Batalowta  old  men,  roused 
from  their  mid-day  repose  by  the  din  of  murder,  and 
seeking  to  escape  to  the  neighbouring  hill,  were  received 
upon  the  spears  of  the  Matebele  who  encircled  the  town. 
The  aged  women  who  unbared  their  breasts  to  bespeak 
men's  mercy,  instead  of  mercy  received  a  spear.  Even  the 
harmless  infants  were  put  to  death ;  "  for,"  as  a  Matebele 
soldier  explained  to  me,  "  when  their  mothers  are  killed, 
did  we  not  also  kill  the  infants,  they  would  only  be  eaten  by 
the  wolves."  Only  young  women,  and  boys  and  girls,  were 
spared.  Some  of  these  wretched  captives  told  me  that  at 
first  they  knew  not  the  fate  of  some  of  their  relatives,  but 
that  hope  died  within  them  when  they  beheld  an  armlet 
or  a  necklace  of  beads,  or  other  well-known  ornament,  now 
decking  the  body  of  a  Matebele  soldier.  A  large  slit,  made 
with  the  assegai  in  the  ear  of  every  captive,  announced  to 
them  that  they  were  now  the  property  of  Moselekatse. 
The  last  heathenish  act  was  to  strip  the  dead,  to  cut  up 
the  clothing  of  the  murdered  parents  into  the  cinctures 
worn  by  the  Matebele,  and  then  compel  the  terrified 
children  to  wear  them. 

Strange  to  say,  in  the  midst  of  this  slaughter,  the  Mate- 
bele spared  all  the  Batalowta  who  had  been  employed  as 
servants  by  the  missionaries  at  Inyate.  Having  no  idea  of 
the  connection  between  master  and  servant  as  obtaining  in 
England,  they  seemed  to  regard  these  men  as  the  property 
of  the  missionaries,  and  therefore  not  to  be  put  to  death 
with  the  rest  of  their  townsmen. 

Three  of  these  Batalowta  were  despatched  on  the  Monday 
after  our  arrival  at  Mahuku's  to  inform  Moselekatse  of  our 
approach.  No  stranger  is  admitted  into  the  Matebele 
country  without  the  permission  of  the  chief  first  asked  and 
obtained.  And  after  he  enters  the  country,  if  he  is  a 
trader  or  hunter,  he  is  under  constant  surveillance  until  he 


298  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

is  again  beyond  the  boundary  of  the  Matebele  country.  I 
found  that  great  stress  was  laid  by  the  Batalowta  on  the 
fact  that  I  had  been  at  Sekhome's  during  the  late  war ;  in 
fact,  that  I  was  to  be  announced  to  the  king  as  "  Sekhome's 
missionary."  While  not  caring  to  hide  my  connection  with 
the  Bamangwato,  I  endeavoured  to  impress  on  their  minds 
that  I  had  been  only  one  year  at  Sekhome's  3  that  I  had 
come  from  England  at  the  same  time  as  the  Matebele 
missionaries,  and  that  I  was  one  with  them  in  entire  neutrality 
in  all  political  matters.  I  learned  afterwards  that  all  my 
explanations  had  been  given  in  vain — all  that  reached 
Moselekatse's  ear  being  that  "  Yonie  (Mr.  J.  Moffat)  was 
coming,  accompanied  by  Sekhome's  missionary." 

Taking  it  for  granted  that  Moselekatse  would  admit  us, 
we  did  not  wait  at  Mahuku's  for  an  answer,  as  is  some- 
times done,  but  slowly  followed  in  the  rear  of  our  messen- 
gers. In  this  way  we  passed  through  what  is  called  the 
Makalaka  country,  which  is  the  ridge  or  backbone  from 
which  on  one  side  the  rivers  flow  first  to  the  north-west 
and  then  northward  to  the  Zambese,  and  on  the  other  side 
flowed  to  the  south-east  and  joined  the  Limpopo.  This 
elevated  r^on  appeared  to  be  healthy,  as  well  as  beauti- 
ful and  fruitful.  Although  this  was  the  dry  season,  we 
found  the  country  abounding  with  water.  We  found  here 
the  sugar-bush,  and  for  days  were  free  from  the  acada 
jungles  of  the  lower-lying  country  which  we  had  left  bdiind 
us.  After  leaving  Monyama's  town  we  entered  the  Mate- 
bele country  proper,  and  began  the  descent  from  the  high 
lands  in  which  we  had  spent  the  last  few  days.  We  had 
now  an  escort  in  old  Monyama  himself,  who  was  respota- 
sible  for  letting  us  pass  his  village  before  our  messengos 
had  returned  with  the  permission  of  the  chief. 

On   the   evening  of   Tuesday  the    19th  August^   oar 
attention  was  directed  to  the  fierce  barking  of  our  dogs  at 


JOURNEY  to  MATEBELE  LAND.         299 

something  among  th^  neighbouring  trees,  and  some  of  the 
men,  having  taken  their  guns,  proceeded  to  the  spot. 
Hearing  shots  fired,  Mr.  Moffat  and  I  followed.  My  wife 
handed  me  what  we  both  took  for  granted  was  my  rifle, 
and  I  hastened  to  the  scene  of  action.  As  I  approached  I 
was  met  by  my  two  drivers,  who  were  running  at  full 
speed.  I  inquired  what  was  chasing  them,  but  they  had 
no  time  to  tell  me.  Proceeding  a  little  farther,  I  saw  a 
black  rhinoceros  cow  with  its  calf,  the  latter  of  which  was 
baited  by  the  dogs.  I  came  up  just  in  time  to  see  one  of 
my  dogs  tossed  into  the  air  by  the  enraged  mother.  Sadly 
shaken^  but  with  no  bones  broken,  "  Celt "  crept  away 
among  the  bushes,  and  did  not  show  face  again  until  the 
danger  was  past  The  rhinoceros  had  already  received 
several  shots  from  Mr.  Moffat  and  from  the  men  :  I  now 
discharged  the  contents  of  both  barrels  into  its  body,  being 
perhaps  fifty  yards  from  the  animal.  When  I  fired  the 
second  time  the  rhinoceros  staggered.  The  calf  was  now 
shot,  and  another  bullet  or  two  were  placed  in  the  body  of 
the  mother,  when  the  men  said  it  was  dead,  and  began  to 
advance  towards  it.  I  had  just  been  observing  its  little 
eye,  and  saw  there  was  life  in  it  still,  when  a  sudden  move- 
ment of  its  body  sent  back  at  the  top  of  their  speed  those 
who  were  advancing.  But  it  was  only  a  spasmodic  jerk. 
The  creature  was  unable  to  rise  again  to  its  feet.  It  was 
however  too  stubborn  to  roll  over  in  the  helplessness  of 
some  wounded  animals,  and  died  resting  on  its  knees. 

"  Hallo !  who  has  been  firing  at  a  rhinoceros  with  small 
shott"  asked  some  one  as  soon  as  we  went  up  to  the 
body.  Every  one  now  looked  at  his  gun.  To  my  chagrin 
I  found  that  I  was  the  hero  of  the  small  shot.  I  had  been 
riding  in  Mr.  Moffat's  waggon  that  afternoon,  and  in  my 
absence  my  driver  had  begged  my  rifle  from  my  wife. 
When  I  afterwards  hastily  asked  it,  she  mechanically  handed 


300  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

to  mo  my  fowling-piece,  which  was  also  loaded  and  capped! 
It  was  amusing  now  to  remember  the  applause  with  which 
the  men  had  greeted  my  second  shot,  and  the  staggering  of 
the  rhinoceros !  The  noise  of  the  report  may  have  dis- 
concerted the  animal,  but  certainly  the  hail  of  small  shot 
did  it  no  harm  whatever,  only  mottling  its  hide  so  as  to 
resemble  what  a  rhinoceros  with  small-pox  might  be !  As 
the  sun  was  nearly  set,  we  drew  our  waggons  up  to  the  two 
carcasses,  and  there  spent  the  night.  Before  the  waggons 
were  unyoked,  the  children  had  climbed  on  the  back  of  the 
rhinoceros,  and  were  examining  its  horns  and  fierce  Uttle 
eye.  The  meat  from  the  ribs  of  the  rhinoceros  is  considered 
best ;  and  it  is  said  the  flesh  of  the  mohohu  or  white  rhino- 
ceros is  very  good.  I  cannot  reconmiend  that  of  the  borile 
or  black  rhinoceros,  although  with  the  appetite  of  camp 
life  in  Africa  it  was  palatable  enough. 

Two  messengers  from  Moselekatse  met  us  here  next 
morning  before  we  had   commenced  our  day's  journey. 
They  had  brought  the  "  mouth "  of  the  king  to  us.    Of 
course  Mr.  J.  Moffat  was  going  home ;  the  chief  was  glad  to 
hear  of  his  return.     Turning  his  attention  to  me,  the  men 
began  to  put  a  great  many  questions,  to  which  I  returned 
plain  and  straightforward  answers.     ^  The  chief  wished  to 
know  what  I  wanted  in  his  country  1"     I  replied  that  I 
wished  to  see  the  chief  himself  and  my  friends  at  Inyite. 
After  patiently  answering  a  great  many  questions — explana- 
tions being  also  given  by  Mr.  Moffat  on  any  point  where  it 
was  necessary, — ^to  my  surprise  and  disappointment  the 
messenger  began,  not  without  some  confusion,  after  our 
unreserved  conversation,  to  deliver  to  me  the  decision  of 
his  master.     Moselekatse  ordered  me  to  return;    Tonie 
was  to  come  on ;  but  the  chief  did  not  wish  to  see  <me  of 
the  Bamangwato.     I  learned,  however,  that  this  decisioQ 
was  not  final ;  one  of  the  men  was  to  return  vriih  such 
explanations  as  I  might  have  to  give.     Mr.  Moffitt  and  I 


JOURNEY  TO  MATEBELE  LAND.  301 

again  went  over  our  position  and  our  objects  with  the  differ- 
ent tribes  where  we  resided  as  missionaries,  and  that  my 
visit  to  the  Matebele  had  no  political  meaning  whatever. 
Having  already  ascertained  that  our  friends  at  Inyate  were 
in  good  health,  I  might  have  returned  at  once ;  but  I  con- 
fess I  felt  a  strong  disinclination  to  do  so.  I  did  not  like 
the  indignity  of  being  sent  about  my  business  in  so  sum- 
mary a  manner ;  but  above  that,  I  felt  it  would  enhance 
our  reputation  as  missionaries  among  the  natives  were  we 
able  to  pass  over  from  one  contending  tribe  to  another 
during  the  time  of  war,  and  be  recognised  as  the  friends  of 
all  and  the  enemies  of  none.  "  Say  to  your  chief,"  I  added, 
when  the  man  was  about  to  depart,  "  that  my  heart  is  sore 
at  having  to  turn  back  here,  although  not  because  I  shall 
lose  the  opportunity  to  take  something  out  of  the  Matebele 
country,  or  to  enrich  myself  at  the  king's  expense.  I  can 
also  bear  to  return  without  seeing  either  the  chief  or  my 
friends  who  have  lived  so  long  under  his  protection ;  but 
my  heart  is  sore  because  in  turning  me  back  the  chief  says 
I  am  one  of  the  Bamangwato.  Now  my  chief  is  not  Se- 
khome,  although  I  taught  his  people  for  some  time  the  Word 
of  GU)d.  The  chief  to  whom  I  owe  allegiance  is  the  Sove- 
reign of  all  the  white  people  you  see,  and  lives  beyond  the 
ocean.  I  go  back  because  Moselekatse  commands  me ;  and 
the  only  sore  place  in  my  heart  is  that  he  treats  me  not  as 
a  missionary  from  England,  but  as  a  subject  of  Sekhome." 
Mr.  J.  Moffat  also  assured  the  soldiers  that  he  would  be 
responsible  for  my  good  conduct  at  Inyate,  and  would  be 
willing  to  take  upon  his  shoulders  the  blame  of  admitting 
me  into  the  Matebele  cotmtry. 

Being  without  water  at  our  present  encampment,  the 
soldiers  with  some  reluctance  agreed  that  we  should  go  for- 
^rard  to  where  we  could  obtain  some  for  ourselves  and  our 
oxen.  There  being  none  at  Boherehere  river,  we  advanced 
to   Komalo,  there   to   await    the   final   decision  of   the 


302  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

chief.  We  learned  in  our  conversations  with  the  messen- 
gers that  the  announcement  that  ^  Sekhome's  missionary  '* 
was  coming  with  Yonie  had  given  rise  to  a  good  deal  of 
pleasantry  and  joking  at  the  court  of  Moselekatse.  "  Make 
haste  and  milk  some  of  Sekhome's  cows  for  Sekhome's  mis' 
sionary,"  said  the  chief  to  those  near  him,  "  for  he  must  be 
hungry  after  so  long  a  journey."  This  was  received  with 
roars  of  laughter.  "  Why,  if  I  admit  this  man,"  he  added, 
"  he  will  see  everything  in  the  country,  and  then  return  and 
inform  Sekhome."  One  of  the  chief's  wives,  greatly  puzzled 
at  my  coming,  exclaimed,  "  What  crimes  do  these  white 
men  commit  which  cause  them  to  flee  from  their  own 
coimtry  in  this  way  ] " 

On  Thursday  the  21st  August,  the  messenger  returned 
from  the  chief — ^his  feet  and  legs  covered  with  dust,  bat 
with  a  smiling  countenance.  Instead  of  delivering  his 
message  to  us  as  we  expected,  he  passed  us  with  a  word  of 
greeting,  and  sitting  down  before  his  fellow-soldier,  who  was, 
I  suppose,  his  superior,  narrated  to  him  the  reply  which  the 
chief  had  sent.  After  he  had  fully  mastered  the  report, 
the  head  man  of  the  two  now  addressed  us,  and  announced 
that  ^  I  was  to  come  on ;  but  where  was  my  present  to  the 
chief,  and  that  of  Mr.  J.  Moffat  %    He  had  not  seen  them.'* 

The  next  Simday  we  spent  at  a  river  called  Tlapa  Baki 
(Wizard's  Stone),  where  Mr.  Moffat  preached  in  Setebde 
to  the  people  of  the  neighbouring  village.  A  considerable 
number  of  soldiers  were  present  when  the  service  began, 
but  before  it  was  over  they  had  all  left  except  one  or  two 
old  men,  who  at  the  conclusion  demanded  "  tusho,"  a  re- 
ward for  their  good  conduct !  I  noticed  that  almost  ev«y 
grown-up  man  had  his  body  marked  somewhere  with  the 
cuts  of  the  spear  or  battle-axe.  I  had  afterwards  fre- 
quent opportunities  of  noticing  the  same  thing.  The  va£i 
majority  of  the  men  I  saw  in  the  country  bore  the  maiks 
of  these  hand-to-hand  encounters  with  their  enemies.    I 


JOURNEY  TO  MATEBELE  LAND.  303 

have  heard  it  said  that  an  African's  head  is  the  last  place 
at  which  an  adversary  ought  to  aim  with  sword  or  spear ; 
but  the  Africans  do  not  think  so  themselves,  for  the  majority 
of  the  wounds  which  I  saw  among  the  Matebele  were  in 
the  head,  or  near  to  it.  With  their  scars  I  noticed  an 
orderliness  among  the  soldiers,  and  a  politeness  on  the  part 
of  their  officers,  which  I  had  not  seen  among  the  Bechuanas. 

We  reached  the  camp  of  Moselekatse  on  Monday  after- 
noon, but  did  not  see  the  chief  till  next  morning.  He 
was  not  living  in  a  town,  but  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain 
not  far  from  a  village  called  Sesentene.  His  four  waggons 
were  drawn  up  near  to  each  other;  behind  these  were  the 
temporary  huts  of  his  harem  and  servants,  closed  in  by  a 
hedge  of  thorn  branches,  and  in  front  a  large  pen  for 
cattle  and  another  for  sheep  and  goats.  Such  were 
the  "  quarters  "  in  which  we  found  the  chief  of  the  Mate- 
bele. As  in  other  things,  his  changes  of  residence  seem 
to  be  guided  by  caprice.  After  living  for  some  time  at  a 
place,  suddenly  the  order  is  issued  to  pack  the  waggons 
and  yoke  the  oxen,  and  before  aU  the  attendants  know 
whither  they  are  going,  the  waggons  are  moving,  and  the 
temporary  huts  left  in  a  blaze.  Perhaps  the  old  chiefs 
craving  for  new  encampments,  and  fresh  green  boughs  for 
his  fences,  had  to  do  with  the  conmion  belief  in  charms 
and  Sibils.  His  enemies  were  supposed  to  be  constantly 
at  work  to  bewitch  him  and  compass  his  death.  The 
removal  of  Us  camp  to  new  quarters  would  be  supposed 
to  break  all  these  enchantments,  and  render  them  nugatory. 
In  the  same  way,  if  one  of  his  people  becomes  ill,  he  is 
removed  from  the  village  in  which  he  is  residing,  and 
placed  in  a  booth  or  temporary  hut,  away  from  all  human 
residence,  and  the  sufferer  in  this  lonely  retreat  is  watched 
by  the  doctor  and  by  one  attendant  until  recovery  takes 
place,  or  death  puts  an  end  to  his  sufferings. 

And  now  for  my  reception  by  this  African  despot,  whose 


304  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

name  was  a  terror  far  and  near.    After  passii^  the  little 
booths  and  the  waggons,  we  were  shown  into  the  sheep-pen, 
at  the  door  of  which  sat  a  number  of  soldiers.     A  fire  had 
been  placed  in  the  middle  of  the  pen,  and  near  to  it^ 
seated  in  an  old-fashioned  arm-chau*,   the  gift  of  Mr. 
Moffat,  sat  Moselehatse.     As  we  advanced,  we  got  each  a 
warm  and  rather  lengthy  shake  of  the  hand,  the  attendants 
shouting  lustily,  "  Great  king !  man-eater! "  etc.     We  took 
our  places  on  the  ground,  opposite  the  arm-chair,  and  had 
a  full  view  of  its  occupant,  who  was  the  object  of  this 
abject  praise.     We  saw  an  old  frail  man,  so  fitdl  that  he 
could  not  stand  by  himself  or  walk  a  single  step.    His 
legs  were  paralysed ;  his  arms  moved  with  difficulty,  and 
in  a  spasmodic  manner ;  his  head  was  grey,  and  his  face 
bore  the  wrinkles  of  old  age.     The  only  clothing  of  the 
chief  at  the  time  of  our  introduction  to  him  consisted  of 
an  English  blanket  brought  loosely  round  his  loins,  and  a 
naval  officer's  cap  on  his  head.     An  old  greatcoat,  the 
original  colour  of  which  was  to  me  matter  of  speculation, 
served  as  a  footstool,  and  was  removed  with  the  diair 
when  the  chief  desired  to  change  his  position.     I  sought 
in  the  countenance  of  Moselekatse  some  explanation  of  hia 
bloody  and  successful  career,  but  I  cannot  say  that  I  found 
it  in  the  face  of  the  old  man  before  me.     He  had  a  good 
head  and  large  eyes,  almost  the  largest  I  have  seen  in  an 
African  face.     And  if  we  were  in  the  presence  of  one  who 
could  listen  unmoved  to  the  voice  of  justice  and  mercy, 
we  had  little  to  remind  us  of  the  fact.     A  bright-eyed 
child  sat  near  the  chief,  and  waited  upon  hinu     He  was  a 
captive,  and  his  parents  had  no  doubt  been  ruthles^ 
murdered.     He  sat  beside  the  arm-chair  of  Moselekatse 
like   a  favourite  lap-dog,   the   chief  occasionally   taking 
notice  of  him,  and  smiling  at  his  apparently  happy  look&^ 

1  Strange  to  say,  this  little  favoured  captiye  boy  did  not  like  Ui 
position  OS  spaniel  or  plaything  to  Moselekatse.    Although  I  never  apokt 


JOURNEY  TO  MATEBELE  LAND.  305 

Some  of  MoselekaWs  "  wives,"  of  whom  I  was  told  there 
were  hundreds  in  the  country,  sat  near  to  their  lord,  ready 
to  obey  his  slightest  wisL  We  were  presented  with  bo- 
jalwa  or  native  beer  in  a  drinking  vessel  neatly  woven  of 
grass.  The  women  held  in  their  hands  elegant  spoons, 
also  made  of  grass,  for  skimming  away  flies  or  other  objects 
from  the  beer.  No  notice  was  taken  of  the  two  great- 
coats which  we  had  sent  on  the  previous  day  as  presents  y 
but  immediate  application  was  made  for  additional  ''help,'' 
as  the  Matebele  express  it.  However,  our  reception  on 
the  whole  was  gracious  enough,  as  things  go  there.  Mosele^ 
katse  seemed  to  lose  sight  of  my  connection  with  Sekhome, 
and  recognised  me  as  a  missionary  from  England  or  Kuru- 
man — ^the  difference  or  distance  between  those  two  places 
not  being  understood  by  the  Matebele.^     The  chief  had 

to  him,  except  perhaps  by  a  kindly  glance  of  the  eye,  I  found  after  leaving 
the  chiefs  camp,  on  my  departure  from  the  country,  that  this  little  fellow 
had  forsaken  the  smiles  and  the  dainties  of  Moselekatse  and  secretly 
oisconced  himself  in  one  of  my  waggons.  Poor  boy !  I  could  not  let  him 
stay.  But  it  was  with  a  heavy  heart  that  I  led  him  out^  and  delivered  him 
to  two  soldiers  to  take  back  to  his  heathen  master. 

^  I  have  been  amused  to  observe  the  hazy  notions  as  to  places  and  per- 
sons which  prevail  in  the  interior.  Till  the  day  of  his  death  Moselekatse 
thought  of  his  friend  Mr.  Moffat  as  chief  of  the  traders  and  hunters  who 
annuaUy  visited  his  country.  An  Englishman  who  never  saw  Mr.  Moffat^ 
and  certainly  never  visited  Euruman,  delivered  every  year  at  his  first  in- 
terview with  Moselekatse  an  improvised  message  to  the  chief,  with  which 
he  said  he  had  been  intrusted  by  Mr.  Moffat.  Again,  on  leaving  the 
country  at  the  end  of  the  season,  this  i>erson  went  regularly  to  the  chief 
to  receive  a  message  for  his  chief  at  Kuruman,  his  joximey  aU  the  whUe 
leading  him  hundreds  of  miles  away  from  that  place.  Then  the  people  of 
Eununan  invariably  gave  themselves  out  in  the  interior  as  subjects  of 
Moffat.  "  Mahure,"  they  said,  "  was  chief  at  Taimg— Moffat  was  chief  at 
Eununan."  This  insured  for  them  more  consideration  than  they  would 
otherwise  have  received.  At  Lake  Ngami  an  English  trader  most  gravely 
assured  the  chief  that  he  could  not  again  show  face  at  Euruman  and 
answer  to  Moffat  for  the  goods  in  his  waggon,  unless  Lechulatebe  gave 
him  more  ivory  for  them  than  he  was  then  offering  t  And  after  all  there 
was  great  reason  for  the  current  report  that  Mr.  Moffat  was  the  chief  of 
EunmiazL    As  the  land  belonged  to  the  missionary  society,  the  kingly 


306  NORTH  OF  THE  OEAKGE  RIVER. 

been  noted  for  the  hospitable  custom  of  detaining  visitoTB 
long  after  the  time  when  they  desired  to  depart  But 
Imig-sickness  had  considerably  diminished  the  qnantity  of 
beef  at  his  disposal,  and  visitors  were  no  longer  entertained 
as  guests  at  the  chief's  expense.  In  our  own  case,  after  a 
stay  of  two  days,  the  chief's  politely  expressed  reluctance 
at  our  departure  was  fully  met  by  the  promise  of  an  early 
visit  after  we  had  seen  our  friends  at  Inyate. 

Leaving  the  sylvan  abode  of  Moselekatse,  near  Sesen- 
tene,  we  reached  Inyate  on  Saturday,  the  29th  of  August, 
having  been  more  than  a  month,  including  all  delays,  in 
performing  a  journey  of  about  330  miles.  We  had  now 
the  pleasure  of  again  meeting  our  dear  friends,  Mr.  Thomas 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sykes.  This  pleasure,  however,  had  its 
sad  alloy  in  the  absence  of  Mrs.  Thomas.  All  we  could 
see  of  her,  except  in  the  features  of  her  two  little  boys, 
was  her  grave.  The  influence  which  this  lady  had  ob- 
tained over  the  Matebele  was  attested  by  alL  The  rude 
and  boisterous  soldiers  were  mild  and  civil  to  her.  They 
could  be  rough  to  others,  they  were  always  gentle  as  Iambs 
to  Ma-Mogele.  She  spoke  the  simple  words  of  gospdi  to 
the  little  children  who  came  to  serve  her,  to  the  women 
who  sometimes  visited  her,  and  even  to  the  men  as  they 
crowded  round  her  door.  Her  death  from  fever  in  June 
1862  was  a  heavy  loss,  not  only  to  her  husband  and 
children,  but  to  the  mission  at  Inyate ;  and  the  Matebde 
mourned  for  her  with  a  sorrow  as  deep  as  their  admiiataon 
had  been  high. 


office  of  apportioning  the  gardens  rested  for  fifty  years  witli  him. 
the  residents  on  the  station  belonged  to  different  and  sometiines  distaai 
tribes,  and  it  was  their  cnstom  to  bring  their  quarrels  to  Mr.  Holbt  far 
settlement.  And  no  chief  in  the  country  entertained  strangers  with 
regularity  and  cheerfulness  than  this  venerable  missionary,  the  maiae 
the  com  which  the  guests  received  for  food  being  reaped  in  the 
laid  out  and  irrigated  by  his  skill  and  industry. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

MOSELEKATSE. 

MoSELEEATSE,  the  son  of  a  Zulu  chief  called  Matsho- 
bane,  spent  his  youth  in  and  around  what  is  now  the 
colony  of  Natal.  The  names  of  some  of  the  rivers  in  that 
distant  country  were  well  known  to  the  chief,  and  to  other 
old  men  whom  I  met  in  Matebele-land.  Some  fifty  years 
ago  Moselekatse's  tribe  was  conquered  by  the  dreaded 
Tshaka,  the  greatest  chief  of  the  Zulus,  at  the  time  when 
he  was  '^  eating  up"  all  the  inhabitants  of  that  region. 
Moselekatse  became  a  captain  in  the  army  of  this  fierce 
despot^  and  performed  in  that  capacity  some  daring  ex- 
ploits. Having  thus  secured  the  affection  of  his  men, 
instead  of  returning  from  a  certain  raid  on  a  distant  tribe, 
with  the  captives  and  the  cattle  which  he  had  taken, 
Moselekatse  hastened  northwards,  placing  the  Drakensberg 
mountains  between  him  and  his  master.  He  then  entered 
what  is  now  the  Transvaal  Republic,  finding  it  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Bakhatla  and  other  unwarlike  Bechuana 
tribes.  After  a  time  his  headquarters  were  established  in 
what  is  now  the  district  of  Marikwe  in  the  Transvaal 
country,  where  on  almost  every  mountain  side  are  to  be 
seen  the  ruins  of  his  towns  and  cattle-pens.  The  inhabi- 
tants fled  before  him,  leaving  their  country  and  their  pro- 
perty an  easy  prey.  His  kingdom  was  established  on  the 
ruins  of  the  peaceftd  towns  of  the  more  industrious  Be- 


308  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

cliuanas,  who  were  workers  in  iron,  copper,  and  in  wood. 
Both  English  Episcopal  and  American  missionaries  at- 
tempted nnsuccessfiillj  to  establish  a  mission  among  the 
Matebele  while  thej  resided  in  this  district. 

Moselekatse  was  here  twice  visited  by  Mr.  Moffat ;  and 
some  head  men  were  sent  to  visit  Kuruman,  while  abont 
1836  two  went  as  far  as  Cape  Town,  with  Dr.  (now  Sir) 
Andrew  Smith.  The  impression  made  npon  the  mind  of 
Moselekatse  hj  the  first  Englishmen  whom  he  himself  had 
seen,  and  by  the  accounts  of  his  ambassadors  to  the 
"white  men's  country,"  was  never  afterwards  effaced. 
The  superior  skill  and  power,  the  higher  and  self-denying 
morality,  the  kindliness  of  heart  of  Mr.  Moffat,  and  his 
mysterious  words  about  Qod  the  Father  of  all  and  Jesus 
Christ  his  Son,  excited  the  highest  admiration  of  this  Zuhi 
chief.  His  son  who  was  to  reign  after  him  he  named 
Kuruman;  and  the  name  and  character  of  "Moshete" 
(Moffat)  followed  the  despot,  as  something  peculiariy  pre- 
cious, in  all  his  wanderings.  But  little  or  no  impression 
was  produced  in  his  outward  conduct,  his  men  continuing 
to  ravage  and  destroy,  as  if  the  Divine  Word  to  love  one 
another  and  to  be  merciful  had  not  been  spoken  to  them. 

Berend  Berend,  a  Griqua  chief,  remembering  how  the 
Batlaping  had  been  saved  from  the  Mantatees  by  his 
people,  conceived  the  idea  of  delivering  the  Bakone  and 
Bakhatla  tribes  fix)m  the  terrible  bondage  of  the  Matebde 
under  which  they  were  groaning.  Proceeding  at  the  head 
of  a  war-party,  he  attacked  the  Matebele,  and  succeeded  im 
collecting  a  large  number  of  their  cattle.  On  their  way 
home,  however,  the  Griquas  were  followed  by  the  Mate- 
bele, and  when  off  their  guard  were  surrounded  in  t2ie 
night,  and  their  victory  was  turned  into  complete  defeats 
The  insult  which  had  been  offered  to  Tshaka  by  Moede- 
katse  was  not  forgotten  by  that  chief  and  his  successor 


MOSELEEATSE.  309 

Dingaan.  Although  the  inarch  was  a  long  one,  they  de- 
spatched war-parties  to  destroy  the  renegade.  Last  of  all, 
another  and  more  formidable  enemy  to  Moselekatse  ap- 
peared in  the  emigrant  Dutch  colonists,  who  were  now  in 
detached  camps  or  parties,  each  '^fighting  for  his  own 
hand."  In  1836  a  party  of  these  men  under  Gerrit  Maritz 
defeated  the  Matebele ;  and  soon  after,  Moselekatse,  think- 
ing that  his  enemies  had  become  too  many  for  him,  left 
the  Transvaal  country,  and  pursued  his  way  northward, 
intending  to  cross  the  Zambese. 

He  was  detained  on  the  southern  bank  of  that  river  by 
tsetse  and  by  the  rebellion  of  one  of  his  sons.  This  young 
man  remained  behind  his  father  on  the  march,  thinking  to 
imitate  Moselekatse's  early  example,  and,  at  the  head  of  his 
own  men,  to  become  an  independent  chief  He  paid  the 
penalty  of  his  audacity  with  his  life  and  the  lives  of  his 
followers.  The  chief  then  settled  in  the  country  of  the  in- 
dustrious Makshona  and  Makalaka,  whom  he  destroyed  as 
he  had  done  the  Bechuanas  before.  Finding,  after  a  time, 
that  his  soldiers  were  paying  too  much  attention  to  the 
Makalaka  young  women,  the  relentless  tyrant  commanded 
his  men  to  put  to  death  those  whose  charms  beguiled  them 
from  sterner  work.  The  command  was  of  course  obeyed, 
and  there  was  lamentation  and  dismay  among  the  Makalaka 
at  the  ruthless  butchery  of  their  sisters  and  their  daughters 
by  those  "  hoimds  of  war  "  who  had  formerly  professed  to 
be  their  admirers. 

The  Dutchmen,  under  Hendrike  Potgieter,  ventured  to 
pursue  Moselekatse  into  his  distant  retreat  They  suc- 
ceeded in  capturing  some  cattle,  and  were  on  their  way 
home  with  their  booty,  when  the  regiment  of  Matebele 
called  Sokindaba  recaptured  the  cattle,  and  killed  some  of 
tbe  Dutchmen.  This  was  the  last  engagement  between 
them  and  Moselekatse.     Those  who  had  performed  this 


310  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

distinguished  service  were  much  honoured  among  the 
Matebele;  and  I  have  more  than  once  heard  men  oi 
Sokindaba  describe  their  share  in  the  glories  of  the  i^scue 
of  Moselekatse's  cattle.  One  man  showed  me  wounds 
which  he  had  received  on  the  occasion;  another  wiry 
little  fellow  imitated  the  way  in  which  he  had  rushed 
upon  a  Dutchman  who  was  loading  his  gun,  wrestled  with 
him,  and  put  him  to  death.  It  is  quite  an  accomplishment 
^mong  these  people  to  be  able  to  mimic  successfully  the 
various  cries  of  distress  which  are  heard  upon  the  field  of 
battle.  Young  men  especially  were  disagreeably  demon- 
strative in  this  way;  older  soldiers  were  in  general  quieter, 
allowing  the  hacks  and  cuts  about  their  head  and  body  to 
testify  to  their  prowess. 

In  1855  Moselekatse  was  visited  in  his  new  territory  by 
his  old  friend  Mr.  Moffat,  and  thus  a  waggon  track  was 
made  to  his  country.  It  is  the  opinion  of  all  natives  that 
if  a  country  is  to  remain  unknown  to  Englishmen  a  wag- 
gon must  not  be  allowed  to  traverse  it.  They  say,  «  Where 
one  waggon  goes  another  is  sure  to  follow."  The  road  to 
the  Matebele  was  soon  an  illustration  of  this.  In  185T 
Mr.  Moffat  paid  Moselekatse  a  second  visit,  and  obtained 
his  consent  to  the  establishment  of  a  mission  among  his 
people;  and  in  1859  he  returned  with  his  son  Mr.  John 
Moffat,  and  with  Messrs.  Sykes  and  Thomas.  The  track 
of  the  missionary  soon  became  a  frequented  road,  upon 
which,  at  all  seasons,  are  now  to  be  found  the  waggons  of 
traders  and  hunters. 

As  to  the  personal  character  of  this  South  Afirican 
despot,  from  all  that  I  could  gather  from  my  friiends  at 
Inyate,  or  from  the  Matebele  themselves,  Moselekatse 
seemed  to  be  possessed  of  tender  feelings,  and  keenly  alire 
to  the  sufferings  of  others.  Such  apparent  contradictioBS 
are  not  unfrequent ;  a  man  is  sometimes  better,  and  some- 


MOSELEEATSE.  311 

times  worse  than  public  report  makes  him  to  be.  Although 
Moselekatse  was  able  by  the  help  of  his  admiring  soldiers 
to  achieve  his  independence,  he  would  not  have  been  able, 
even  had  he  desired,  at  once  to  cease  from  plunder  and 
from  bloodshed.  His  soldiers  had  been  trained  and  enrolled 
for  this  very  purpose.  As  in  other  miKtary  despotisms, 
war  was  a  necessary  part  of  the  Matebele  scheme  of  society. 
In  order  to  secure  the  continued  allegiance  of  his  men, 
Moselekatse  had  to  devise  work  for  them,  in  which  they 
would  meet  with  the  gratification  of  their  savage  passions. 
The  clamour  to  be  led  forth  to  pillage,  outrage,  and  blood- 
shed never  ceased  to  issue  from*  men  forced  to  live  under 
the  restraints  of  Matebele  barracks.  This  dreadful  organi- 
zation, created  by  the  chief,  and  guided  by  his  wisdom, 
came  by  and  bye  to  act  with  great  precision.  Every  year 
a  war-party  marched  against  some  neighbouring  tribe; 
every  year  multiplied  the  number  of  murdered  innocents, 
whose  blood  cried  to  Heaven  for  vengeance.  But  as  a 
matter  of  fact  the  master  spirit  animating  and  regulating 
all  these  movements  was  personally  averse  to  pain  and 
suffering.  Even  his  oxen  Moselekatse  did  not  permit  to 
be  lashed  severely  by  the  long  whip  of  the  waggon-driver ; 
his  men  were  allowed  to  beat  them  only  with  green  wands 
cut  from  the  bushes  in  the  forest.  When,  some  weeks 
after  my  arrival,  Mr.  Thomas,  on  his  way  to  the  colony, 
brought  his  little  children  to  take  leave  of  the  chief, 
Moselekatse  cried  out  in  the  most  feeling  manner,  **  Take 
the  poor  motherless  dear  ones  to  the  waggon,  for  I  cannot 
bear  the  sight ! "  And  yet  how  many  motherless  children 
arrived  in  his  own  dominions  every  year,  made  orphans 
by  the  insatiable  spears  of  his  soldiers  1 

Moselekatse's  admiration  for  Englishmen  was  very  great, 
and  could  not  possibly  have  long  survived  the  advent  of 
tho  "mixed"  society  which  has  recently  found  its  way  into 


•     f 


312  NOHTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

his  country.  I  have  heard  him  say  to  his  congregated 
officers  and  men,  pointing  to  the  Englishmen  present, 
"These  are  the  masters  of  the  world.  Don't  yon  take 
notice  how  they  sleep  in  the  open  country  alone  and  un- 
protected, and  are  not  afraid  1  They  are  in  my  country 
one  day ;  they  pass  on  to  the  towns  of  other  chiefs ;  ihej 
go  fearlessly,  for  they  bear  no  malice,  but  are  the  friends 
of  alL  And  when  the  great  men  in  the  white  man's 
country  send  their  traders  for  my  ivory,  do  you  think  they 
giye  me  beautiful  things  in  exchange  because  they  could 
not  take  the  iyory  by  force  1  They  could  come  and  take 
it  by  force,  and  all  my  cattle  also.  And  yet  look  at  them! 
They  are  humble  and  quiet  and  easily  pleased.  The 
Englishmen  are  the  friends  of  Moselekatse ;  and  they  are 
the  masters  of  the  world." 

The  missionaries  destined  to  preach  the  gospel  amcmg 
the  Mat^bele  arrived  at  the  head-quarters  of  Moseldkatse 
on  the  28th  October  1859.  As  pneumonia,  a  deadly  and 
infectious  disease,  had  broken  out  among  their  catde,  as 
soon  as  they  reached  the  borders  of  Moselekatse's  countiy 
they  sent  forward  a  messenger  to  b^  the  use  of  the 
chiefs  draught  oxen,  in  order  that  they  might  be  able  to 
keep  their  own  outside  the  coimtry,  until  the  disease 
should  disappear  from  among  them.  They  dreaded  the 
consequence  of  associating  their  arrival  in  the  country 
with  the  coming  of  a  disease  which  had  produced  such 
ravages  wherever  it  had  hitherto  appeared.  At  first  the 
chief  invited  them  to  come  on,  with  the  assurance  that  no 
one  would  blame  them  even  if  the  disease  did  break  out ; 
but  afterwards,  on  a  second  messenger  being  despatched  to 
him,  he  took  the  warning,  and  expressing  his  thanks  to 
the  missionaries  for  their  interest  in  his  prosperity,  pro- 
mised to  send  them  assistance.  Instead  of  oxen,  however, 
to  pull  the  waggons,  he  sent  men,  who  took  to  tfa^  tadc 


MOSELEEATSE.  313 

cheerfully,  but  after  all  were  not  able  to  compensate  for 
the  absence  of  the  steady  and  patient  oxen.  The  party 
certainly  presented  a  novel  appearance,  with  Matebele 
soldiers  in  the  place  of  oxen,  and  the  sides  of  the  waggons 
covered  with  shields  and  spears.  Having  also  the  nightly 
noise  of  the  men  at  their  camp-fires  close  to  the  waggons, 
and  witnessing  daily  the  slaughtering  and  eating  of  the 
cattle  with  which  the  chief  kept  his  soldiers  supplied, 
the  young  missionaries  and  their  wives  became  somewhat 
accustomed  to  the  Matebele  before  they  reached  their 
destination.  At  length  the  chief  was  pleased  to  accede  to 
the  request  of  the  missionaries,  and  sent  his  draught  oxen 
to  relieve  the  soldiers  and  bring  forward  the  waggons  to 
his  encampment. 

During  the  first  two  months  after  the  arrival  of  the  mission 
party  in  the  Matebele  coimtry,  their  position  was  a  very  un- 
pleasant and  trying  one.     After  the  first  civilities  were  over, 
the  manner  of  both  chief  and  people  completely  changed. 
Confidence  and  regard  gave  place  to  distrust  and  imcon- 
cealed  aversion.    One  morning,  about  three  weeks  after  their 
arrival,  the  missionaries  observed  an  unusual  stir  about  the 
chief's  quarters.     He  was  leaving  for  another  locality ;  the 
waggons  were  already  moving;  and  yet  the  guests  had 
received  no  intimation  or  explanation  from  Moselekatse. 
Having  no  oxen  in  the  country,  they  were  of  course  fix- 
tores  where  they  stood.     Mr.  Moffat  resolved  to  ascertain 
the  meaning  of  this  movement,  and  followed  the  receding 
party  for  some  distance  for  that  purpose.     But  as  soon  as  he 
approached  the  chief's  waggon,  he  was  turned  back  by  the 
attendants  of  Moselekatse.     The  old  attachment  between 
the  chief  and  his  friend  was  for  a  time  entirely  inoperative. 
As   to  the  young  missionaries,  their  first  impressions  of 
Moselekatse  were  very  unfavourable.      They  were  disap- 
pointed at  the  manner  of  their  reception.     Instead   of 


314  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

generosity,  or  even  friendliness,  they  met  with  excessive 
selfishness,  meanness,  and  duplicity.     InsteJEid  of  their  ima- 
ginary "noble  savage,"  they  found  a  greedy,  unreasonable, 
and  cunning  old  man.     But  they  had  to  content  themselves 
with   the  exercise  of  patience,  a  virtue  which  is  needed 
everywhere,  but  nowhere  more  than  in  the  establishment 
of  a  new  mission  in  Southern  Africa.     Insulting  messages 
were  now  sent  to  them  from  the  chief.     They  were  told 
that  they  were  spies,  and  had  come  to  find  out  the  resooioes 
of  the  Matebele  country.     They  must  pay  the  chief  for  his 
aasistonce  in  pulling  their  waggons  during  the  latter  part 
of  their  journey.     One  waggon-load  of  goods  must  be  given 
to  him  at  once,  etc.     For  about  two  months  the  mission 
party  were  virtually  prisoners.     They  were  forbidden  to 
leave  the  waggons  or  to  kill  game ;  and  the  Matebele  ir&e 
commanded  not  to  sell  them  food,  or  even  milk  for  their 
coffee.     They  asked  permission  to  purchase  cows,  the  chief 
replied  he  had  ivory  but  no  cows  for  sale ;  and  he  wished 
in  return  guns  and  ammunition.     Determined  not  to  com- 
promise their  character  at  the  very  outset^  the  missionaiira 
refused  to  purchase  a  single  pound  of  ivory.     They  ex- 
plained that  other  men  would  come  to  trade  with  him ; 
they  had  come  to  teach  him  and  his  people. 

The  chief  reasons  for  this  disaffection  towards  those 
whom  he  had  promised  to  receive  as  his  own  children  are 
easily  given.  When  he  promised  to  receive  missionaries^ 
Moselekatse  took  the  precaution  to  send  messengers  to 
Mahure,  the  chief  of  the  Batlaping,  in  whose  country  Eaitb 
man  is  situated,  for  the  purpose  of  inquiring  into  the  whole 
bearing  and  scope  of  the  missionary's  work.  He  had  heaid 
the  missionary  state  his  case,  he  would  now  hear  the  chief 
in  whose  country  Mr.  Moffiat  had  been  so  long  carrying  cm 
his  work.  The  report  of  these  messengers  was  unfiaTooraUe 
to  the  missionary.     They  found  the  Batlaping  in  1857  in 


MOSELEEATSE.  315 

complications  with  their  Dutch  neighbours,  and  in  danger  of 
being  dispossessed  of  their  country.  In  their  report  to  Mose- 
lekatse,  the  messengers  blamed  the  missionaries  for  these  dis- 
asters. They  had  come  first ;  the  Dutchmen  had  followed.^ 
Then  the  Matebele  themselves  remembered  that  the  only 
missionaries  (Americans)  who  had  resided  with  them  at  Mo- 
siga  in  the  Transvaal  country,  had  been  only  a  short  time 
among  them,  when  the  town  where  they  were  stationed  was 
attacked  by  the  emigrant  farmers,  and  the  missionaries,  in- 
stead  of  fleeing  with  the  Matebele,  or  even  remaining  after 
the  flight,  went  away  with  their  enemies,  as  if  they  had  been 
privy  to  the  attack,  which,  of  course,  was  not  the  case.  The 
Matebele  therefore  were  fully  of  opinion,  that  if  they  allowed 
the  missionaries  to  build  in  the  country,  other  white  men 
would  come,  and  in  the  end  the  land  would  be  taken  from 
them.  Moselekatse  himself  did  not  seem  to  hold  this 
opinion ;  but  then  he  had  his  own  grievances  in  the  matter. 
He  had  agreed  in  his  own  mind,  that  if  a  visit  from  Mr. 
Moffat  had  been  to  him  such  a  profitable  as  well  as  pleasant 
thing,  what  must  be  the  residence  of  his  son  in  his  country  ? 

'  This  was  only  a  repetition  of  what  had  taken  place  in  a  distant 
conntry  some  forty  years  before,  in  somewhat  similar  circomstauces.  It 
is  said  that  a  certain  K&tBj  who  had  led  a  wandering  life  in  the  Cape  Colony, 
and  who  had  been  imprisoned  on  Robben  Island  for  cattle-stealing,  fonnd  his 
way,  after  his  release,  to  Zola-land,  and  was  employed  by  Tshaka  as  inter- 
preter or  agent  between  him  and  the  Englishmen  who  had  then  just  begun 
to  settle  near  to  Port  Natal.  Besides  the  knowledge  of  the  world  to  which 
he  laid  claim,  this  person  also  assumed  the  prophetic  character,  and  pre- 
dicted to  Tshaka  that  in  the  course  of  time  a  white  man  called  an  "  um- 
ftindisi  '*  (missionary)  would  make  his  appearance,  and  ask  permission  from 
Tshaka  to  build  a  house  in  his  coimtry,  that  he  might  teach  them  the 
"  Great  Word."  Afterward  another  and  another  would  come  until  the 
country  would  be  fiUed  with  white  men.  Then  they  would  fight  with  the 
chiefs  people,  and  dispossess  them  of  their  land.  Some  years  afterwards, 
when  Captain  Allen  Gardiner  applied  for  permission  to  open  up  a  mission 
in  Zulu-land,  it  was  held  by  the  Zulus  that  part  of  the  Kaffir  interpreter's 
prophecy  had  been  fulfilled,  and  Captain  Gardiner  was  told  that  if  the  chief 
permitted  him  to  build,  the  rest  of  the  prophecy  would  be  fulfiUed  also, 
and  the  white  people  would  multiply  and  destroy  the  Zulus  ! 


316  NORTH  OF  THE  ORA.NGE  RIVER. 

Now  services  may  be  rendered  and  favours  conferred  by  one 
who  is  on  a  visit  to  a  native  chief  which  a  resident  missionaiy 
would  find  it  impossible  to  fulfil  as  every-day  engagements.^ 
Moselekatse  seemed  determined  to  employ  the  new  mission- 
aries in  his  service  in  this  way.  Despite  all  explanations 
to  the  contrary^  he  insisted  for  some  time  that  one  of  the 
missionaries  should  commence  a  trade  in  ivory,  and  offered 
to  load  up  the  ^  missionary  trader's  "  waggon  at  once,  that 
he  might  return  to  the  colony  and  bring  back  such  artides 
as  the  chief  desired.  It  was  this  battle  that  was  fought 
during  the  two  months  of  suspense  at  the  commencement 
of  the  Matebele  mission.  The  more  powerful  and  dictatorial 
the  chief,  the  more  necessary  was  it  that  those  who  were  to 
reside  with  him  should,  at  the  outset,  avoid  all  occasion  of 
future  complication  or  misunderstanding.  Moselekatse's 
views  concerning  a  missionary  must  fsdl  to  the  ground,  and 
they  must  be  received  on  the  simple  footing  of  "  teadiers 
of  the  Word  of  Grod."  Once  established  in  this  position,  it 
would  be  for  them  to  render  such  daily  services  and  favours 
as  their  feelings  might  dictate,  and  as  their  opportunity  and 
skill  enabled  them  to  perform. 

At  length,  on  the  15th  December,  the  missionaries  re- 
ceived instructions  to  meet  the  chief  at  the  town  to  whkh 
he  had  removed.     On  the  23d,  they  were  shown  the  foon- 

^  I  once  saw  a  certain  native  cliief  in  whose  own  family  and  honaBhold 
tliere  were  several  women  who  had  learned  to  sew,  when  a  button  happened 
to  come  off  his  vest,  at  once  despatch  vest  and  button  to  the  wife  of  his 
missionary,  with  the  request,  which  was  uttered  as  a  command,  thai  aha 
would  sew  on  the  button  at  once,  and  the  man  was  ordered  to  wait  for 
the  vest  and  bring  it  back  again !  I  had  not  the  pleasure  of  being  aoquaznted 
with  the  good  lady  in  question,  but  have  little  doubt  that  she  had  in  kind- 
ness and  inexperience  begun  such  services,  and  they  had  multi^ied  day 
after  day.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  missionaiy  to  conciliate  and  to  help  thoaa 
among  whom  he  labours ;  but  when  he  or  his  wife  habituaUy  renders  xat- 
necessary  menial  services,  they  wiU  graduaUy  cease  to  have  influence  im 
the  town,  and  come  to  be  regarded  as  mere  adjuncts  to  the  poseesnoBa  and 
glory  of  the  chiet 


M0SELE5ATSE.  317 

tain  and  valley  of  Inyate,  and  Monyebe,  the  chiefs  officer, 
told  them  that  if  the  situation  pleased  them,  Moselekatse 
granted  them  both  the  fountain  and  the  land,  to  occupy  and 
to  cultivate  according  to  their  own  ideas.  This  was  a 
happy  deliverance  fix)m  their  difficulties.  The  missionaries 
gave  thanks  to  Grod,  who  had  so  far  changed  the  minds  of 
the  Matebele,  and  given  them  acceptance  in  their  eyes  as 
teachers  of  the  Word  of  Grod.  Mr.  Moffat,  upon  whom,  as 
leader  of  the  expedition,  a  two-fold  responsibility  and 
anxiety  had  devolved,  now  felt  that  a  heavy  load  was  taken 
fix)m  his  mind.  The  mission  was  to  be  established.  His 
son  was  here  to  live  over  again  his  &ther's  life  at  Kuruman. 
That  life  was  spent  near  the  Orange  river :  this  was  near 
the  Zambese.  So  slowly,  but  surely,  was  the  blessed  light 
of  the  gospel  travelling  northwards. 

The  missionaries  next  requested  that  interpreters  might 
be  provided  who  understood  Sechuana  and  Setebele,  from 
whom  they  could  learn  the  latter  language,  and  through 
whose  aid  they  might  begin  to  preach  to  the  people. 
Moselekatse  did  not  show  any  anxiety  for  the  commence- 
ment of  such  labours,  but  put  off  giving  interpreters  month 
after  month,  although  he  still  promised  to  furnish  them.  At 
length,  in  the  end  of  April,  the  interpreters  were  produced, 
and  the  missionaries  were  able  to  commence  preaching  to 
the  Matebele.  The  first  services  were  held  in  the  large  cattle- 
pen  of  the  town,  and  were  attended  by  great  numbers  of 
the  soldiers.  Moselekatse  was  always  present,  and  showed 
at  once  his  knowledge  of  Sechuana  and  the  doctrines  of  the 
Word  of  God,  as  previously  taught  him  by  Mr.  Moffat,  by 
occasionally  interrupting  the  interpreter,  and  helping  him 
with  the  right  word.  As  every  utterance  of  Moselekatse  is 
applauded,  these  corrections  were  received  with  the  usual 
demonstrations,  every  soldier  present  shouting  out  ^'  Great 
Kingl "  etc.,  in  the  middle  of  the  sermon.  The  chief  also  con- 


318  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER, 

sidered  himself  bound  once  or  twice  to  express  his  dissent 
from  the  doctrines  which  were  proclaimed.  For  instance, 
when  one  of  the  missionaries,  some  time  after  their  arrival 
in  the  country,  was  preaching  concerning  the  accessibility  of 
God,  he  said  that  all  might  repair  to  Him  in  prayer,  the  poor 
people  as  well  as  the  greatest  kings,  and  that  Grod  would 
hear  the  one  as  soon  as  the  other.  ^^  That 's  a  lie !  "  inter- 
jected Moselekatse,  who  did  not  like  to  be  thus  publidj 
ranked  with  the  poor  and  abject.  The  missionary  was 
immediately  interrupted  by  the  shouts  of  applause  which 
greeted  the  emendation  of  their  chief.  As  he  found,  how- 
ever, that  his  disapprobation  did  not  alter  the  preaching,  and 
that  in  every  discourse  there  was  a  good  deal  which  was 
unpleasant  for  him  to  hear,  the  Matebele  chief  did  what 
people  in  somewhat  similar  circumstances  do  in  England 
and  elsewhere, — ^he  gave  up  attending  the  public  worship. 
His  outward  friendliness  to  the  missionaries,  however,  suf- 
fered no  abatement. 

In  less  than  a  year  after  their  arrival  in  the  country,  the 
missionaries  obtained  permission  to  preach  at  other  towns 
and  villages  as  well  as  at  Inyate,  and  they  began  to  visit 
regularly  the  three  which  were  nearest  them.  Mr.  Thomas, 
who  obtained  this  liberty  for  himself  and  his  fdlow- 
labourers,  was  now  able  to  speak  to  the  people  in  their  own 
language.  Being  a  very  good  shot,  it  was  easy  for  him,  at 
ahnost  every  preaching  visit,  to  kill  a  gnu  or  a  zebra  in  the 
open  country  between  Inyate  and  the  scene  of  his  evan- 
gelistic labours.  The  whole  or  the  greater  part  of  the  meat 
he  usually  gave  to  the  people.  Mr.  Thomas's  fellow- 
labourers,  although  not  so  successful  Nimrods,  were  stiU 
able  to  supply  the  people  occasionally  with  meat^  whidi 
cost  them  nothing  but  a  bullet  and  perhaps  an  hoax's 
additional  walking.  It  is  not  at  all  to  be  wondered  at  if 
the  Matebele  sometimes  followed  the  missionaries,  not  on 


HOSELEKATSE.  319 

account  of  their  preaching,  but  because  they  ate  of  the 
game  which  they  killed  for  them.  A  Greater  than  the 
missionaries  had  been  followed  for  similar  reasons.  The 
Matebele  were  all  the  more  inclined  to  give  heed  to  the 
preaching  after  they  had  seen  the  prowess  of  the  preachers 
in  the  field,  as  well  as  their  kindliness  of  heart 

I  one  day  requested  a  Matebele  head  man  to  giye  me 
an  account  of  all  that  he  knew  concerning  the  past  his- 
tory of  the  Word  of  God  in  the  tribe.  Listening  to  his 
redtaly  I  was  able  to  form  an  estimate  of  the  position  of 
Christianity  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  But  as  he  went 
on  with  his  story,  my  informant  mentioned  an  episode  of 
"v^hich  I  had  not  before  heard.  Having  described  some  of 
the  events  which  we  have  already  narrated,  the  head  man 
introduced  among  his  list  of  evangelists  the  name  of 
Sechele,  the  chief  of  the  Bakwena,  who  visited  the  Matebele 
shortly  before  the  arrival  of  the  missionary  party  in  1859. 

**  Sechele  preached  regularly  in  the  chiefs  court-yard 
and  before  Moselekatse/'  said  my  informant ;  ''  and  all  the 
people  in  the  town  where  the  chief  was  residing  attended 
the  service.  When  Sechele  departed,  Moselekatse  resolved 
to  keep  up  the  service." 

^And  did  Moselekatse  himself  pray  and  preach  and 
sing  1 "  I  asked,  with  some  curiosity. 

**No;  the  chief  said  that  Monyebe  was  to  take  the 
*  pina  ea  sekhoa  * "  (the  white  man's  dance  or  religious  ser- 
vice). 

"  Upon  what  grounds  was  Monyebe  chosen  to  pray  after 
the  white  man's  fashion  ? "  I  inquired. 

*^  Because  the  chief  thought  Monyebe  knew  more  about 
white  people  and  their  ways  than  any  one  else ! " 

It  must  have  been  a  singular  spectacle  to  see  Moselekatse 
and  his  people  assembled  to  worship  ^'  after  the  white 
man's  fiEtshion,"  under  the  presidency  of  one  of  themselves, 


320  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

whose  recommendation  was  that  as  prime  minister  he  had 
come  into  most  frequent  contact  with  white  men,  and  had 
had  the  best  chance  of  learning  their  ways  I  This  strange 
and  sad  service^  which  must  haye  been  a  burl^que,  was 
not  kept  up  long,  having  been  discontinued  before  the 
appearance  of  the  missionaries  in  the  country. 

When  the  missionaries  began  to  reside  with  the  Mate- 
bele,  it  was  suggested  that  they  should  approach  the  chief 
with  the  form  of  salutation  used  by  the  common  soldiers, 
which  is  to  crouch  down  to  the  ground  and  advance^ 
shouting  all  the  while  the  praises  of  the  chiefl  The  mis- 
sionaries objected  to  this,  and  were  permitted  to  greet  by 
bowing  and  shaking  hands.  This  point  settled,  the  next 
question  was,  Were  they  to  be  allowed  to  sit  on  chairs  or 
camp-stools  at  the  public  worship  in  presence  of  the  chief  t 
No  head  man  among  the  Matebele  would  sit  on  a  stool 
under  any  circumstances.  If  asked  to  do  so,  he  at  once 
declined,  saying  that  ^  Moselekatse  alone  sat  on  a  stooL" 
But  the  missionaries  carried  this  point  also.  They  said 
they  had  always  been  accustomed  to  sit  on  stools  or  chairs 
in  their  own  country,  and  if  they  did  so  still,  it  was  not 
because  they  wished  to  dishonour  Moselekatse !  Bat  the 
Matebele  positively  refused  to  allow  old  Mebalwe,  the 
native  teacher,  and  other  Bechuanas  in  the  missionaries' 
party,  to  take  their  chairs  into  the  presence  of  Moselekatse. 
I  have  seen  some  of  these  people  going  half-way  with  their 
chairs  on  Sunday  morning,  forgetting  where  they  were,  tiD 
some  soldier  passing  by  indignantly  demanded  ^  if  dogs 
like  them  were  venturing  before  the  chief  with  a  stool  t  ** 

After  a  little  time  it  was  arranged  that  missionaries  and 
white  men  generally  were  to  rank  in  the  countiy  as  the 
"  sons  of  Moselekatse."  This  was  a  high  honour,  and  had 
many  direct  privileges.  The  people  throughout  the  coun^ 
were  bound  to  honour  those  whom  the  chief  had  thus  Tir- 


MOSELEKATSE.  321 

toallj  adopted.  A  boisterous  soldier,  haggling  over  a  bargain, 
would,  after  a  little  reflection,  address  the  white  nian  in  a 
more  submissive  tone, — **  Child  of  the  king,  just  a  few  more 
beads,  and  I  will  go  away ! "  White  men  were  allowed  to 
approach  the  person  of  the  chief,  and  usually  sat  down 
beside  him.  His  officers  in  attendance  sat  next ;  his  own 
children  at  a  still  further  distance,  but  within  a  few  yards. 
At  the  door  of  the  enclosure  if  the  place  was  small,  or  at 
some  thirty  yards'  distance  if  in  a  large  yard,  sat  the  com- 
mon soldiers  in  a  semicircle.  Each  person,  on  entering  the 
enclosure,  loudly  and  repeatedly  greeted  the  chief,  and  then 
took  his  place  among  those  of  his  own  rank.  The  onl^' 
women  admitted  into  the  chiers  presence  were  two  or  three 
of  his  wives.  Their  place  was  behind  Moselekatse's  chair. 
About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  was  what  may  very 
appropriately  be  called  '^feeding  time"  at  Moselekatse's 
quarters.  The  cattle  had  been  killed  in  the  morning,  and  the 
beef  had  been  stewing  all  the  day  in  a  pot,  the  lid  of  which 
was  kept  closely  sealed  with  cow-dung.  The  meat  was  very 
tender,  and  having  been  stewed  rather  than  boiled  retained 
its  richness.  The  cook  having  annoimced  to  the  chief 
that  dinner  was  ready,  received  from  him  minute  orders 
how  to  dispose  of  it.  First  of  all,  a  certain  portion  was 
brought  to  Moselekatse  himself,  in  a  dish  which  had  been 
just  before  handed  to  the  cook  by  one  of  the  wives.  This 
wooden  vessel,  in  which  the  chief  always  ate  his  meat,  was 
never  washed,  and  never  removed  from  his  immediate 
neighbourhood.  These  precautions  were  taken  on  account 
of  the  prevailing  fear  of  witchcraft.  The  congealed  fstt  at 
the  bottom  of  the  dish  was  at  least  an  inch  in  thickness. 
On  its  sides  the  ^  deposit "  was  not  so  thick,  and  the  colour 
and  contour  were  more  variegated  from  having  been  fre- 
quently disturbed  by  the  presence  of  fresh  pieces  of  beef. 
White  men  who  visited  Moselekatse  at  this  auspicious  hour 

X 


322  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

were  always  invited  to  dine;  and  it  would  have  been 
altogether  unaccountable  had  any  one  refused.  A  portion 
was  ordered  for  his  visitors  in  a  separate  dish,  and  what 
they  did  not  eat  they  were  expected  to  send  to  their 
waggons.  Nothing  was  to  be  returned.  If  the  chirf 
wished  specially  to  honour  a  visitor,  he  would  ask  him  to 
eat  out  of  the  royal  dish.  Occasionally  I  have  seen  a  mis- 
sionary advanced  to  a  position  even  more  dignified,  and 
asked  to  cut  down  the  meat  for  Moselekatse.  When  he 
felt  inclined  to  present  any  of  his  visitors  with  the  remains 
of  the  piece  of  which  he  had  been  partaking,  it  was  caie- 
fiilly  removed  fix)m  the  ''  unwashed  "  to  another  dish,  and 
in  that  carried  to  the  waggon. 

While  the  visitors  were  eating,  the  cook  and  his  assist- 
ants handed  round  the  immense  dishes  of  beef  to  the 
various  companies  of  soldiers  present^  according  to  the 
orders  of  the  chief.  Each  company  shouted  out  their 
thanks  when  the  dish  was  placed  before  them.  Not  oclj 
was  the  chair  sacred  to  Moselekatse,  but  so  was  the  knife 
in  eating.  No  one  may  use  a  knife  at  meals  except  the 
chief,  the  white  men,  and  the  chief's  family.  But  the 
Matebele  are  at  no  loss  without  knives ;  although,  I  con- 
fess, their  appearance  when  thus  engaged  in  eating  berf  is 
singularly  repulsive,  and  suggestive  of  great  degradation. 
The  soldier  who  is  next  to  the  dish  seizes  one  of  the  laige 
pieces  of  beef  into  which  the  oxen  have  been  cut.  I 
believe  Moselekatse's  beef  was  always  cut  up  in  oae  way, 
and  every  piece  had  its  name.  Laying  hold  of  the  beef 
with  both  his  hands,  the  soldier  seizes  it  with  his  teeth, 
and  pulls  off  as  much  as  he  can  from  the  piece.  What 
comes  off  is  his.  Passing  the  large  piece  to  the  man  next 
him,  he  sets  to  work  to  masticate  and  swallow  the  bit 
which  he  has  secured.  By  the  time  he  is  quite  ready  for 
another  bite,  the  piece  of  beef  has  travelled  from  man  to 


MOSELEKATSE.  323 

man,  becoming,  of  course,  less  in  bulk  on  its  journey ;  and 
is  again  presented  to  him  who  first  attacked  it.  And  so  it 
goes  round  until  it  is  demolished.  But  if  it  is  very  large, 
and  the  party  are  not  numerous,  they  may  be  seen  seated 
in  a  cirde;  supporting  the  meat  by  their  hands  in  the 
centre,  while  they  all  simultaneously  tear  and  pull  away 
at  it  with  their  teeth  in  vigorous  style.  Not  a  word  is 
spoken;  each  one  conducts  himself  as  if  he  had  no  time  to 
lose.  And  certainly  what  one  man  does  not  seize  is  soon 
swallowed  by  the  man  next  him.  In  no  circumstances  are 
good  teeth  of  such  evident  and  immense  advantage  -,  the 
old  and  toothless  man  can  have  no  chance  at  such  a 
dinner-party.  After  the  beef  has  beeii  disposed  of,  large 
calabashes  of  beer  are  brought  in,  and  placed  where  the 
dishes  of  meat  had  stood.  Each  man  in  his  turn  raises 
the  vessel  to  his  mouth,  and  takes  a  long  draught.  The  old 
have  now  the  advantage,  being  long-winded,  experienced 
beer-drinkers,  and  make  up  for  any  deficiency  in  their  share 
of  the  beef. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

A  MILITARY  TRIBE  AND  CHRISTIANITY. 

During  the  fire  months  which  I  spent  among  the 
Matebele,  I  gave  some  attention  to  their  customs,  and 
to  the  peculiarities  of  their  social  life  as  a  warlike  people 
—every  able-bodied  man  of  whom  is  a  soldier,  and  every 
year  a  year  of  war.  No  more  complete  military  despotism 
ever  existed.  Stripped  of  all  its  attractiveness  to  European 
eyes,  war  is  seen  in  its  unmitigated  horrors  when  carried 
on  by  Zulus  and  Matebele  every  year,  and  as  a  matter  of 
course.  Such  a  society  needs  a  head— one  guiding  mind. 
No  council  or  oligarchy  suits  the  ptirely  military  oiganisa- 
tion ;  without  one  man  able  to  wield  it,  such  a  tribe  iaUs 
to  pieces;  with  a  man  who  can  conceive  and  execute) 
encourage  and  compel,  the  weapon  in  his  hands  is  a  terrible 
one — stripping  a  country  of  its  population  as  the  reaper 
cuts  down  the  com  in  the  harvest-field. 

Matebele  society  may  be  said  to  exist  for  the  chie£ 
His  claims  are  supreme  and  unquestioned.  To  him  bdongs 
every  person  and  everjrthing  in  the  country.  The  droves 
of  cattle  which  you  meet  in  every  part  of  the  country 
belong  to  the  chief;  and  if  one  dies  he  is  informed  oi  it. 
The  herd-boy  who  follows  the  cattle,  and  his  master  irtio 
Uves  in  the  adjoining  town,  belong  alike  to  the  chief  Ute 
troops  of  girls  who  rush  out  from  every  Matebele  town  to 
see  the  passing  waggons,  belong  all  of  them  to  the  chief; 


A  MILITAEY  TRIBE  AND  CHRISTIANITY.  325 

the  immensely  fat  women  who  slowly  follow  are  introduced 
to  the  trayeller  as  the  wires  of  Moselekatse.  The  chief's 
officers  or  head  men  may  indeed  possess  private  property ; 
but  the  chief  has  only  to  raise  his  finger,  and  their  goods 
are  confiscated  and  they  themselyes  put  to  death. 

The  head  men  lead  perhaps  the  most  wretched  lires 
under  this  wretched  government.  The  private  soldier  has 
little  in  possession  or  enjoyment,  but  he  has  also  little 
cara  The  officer,  on  the  other  hand,  knows  that  jealous 
eyes  are  upon  him.  His  equals  in  rank  and  station  covet 
his  possessions,  and  regard  the  favours  which  he  receives 
from  the  chief  as  so  much  personal  loss  to  themselves. 
Therefore  the  head  men  are  continually  plotting  and 
counter-plotting  against  one  another.  "  We  never  know," 
whispered  one  of  them  to  me,  having  first  looked  care- 
fully round  to  see  if  we  were  quite  alone,  "  we  never  know 
when  we  enter  our  house  at  night  if  we  shall  again  look 
upon  the  light  of  the  sun."  As  a  matter  of  fact  such  men 
seldom  Ml  asleep  sober,  they  every  night  call  in  the  aid 
of  boyalwa  (beer)  to  deepen  their  slumbers.  One  day  a 
smaU  wiry  man  was  introduced  to  me  at  Inyate  by  one  of 
the  missionaries.  He  was  asked  where  he  had  been  the 
night  before,  and  with  a  smile  mentioned  the  name  of  a 
certain  village.  This  person  had  sharp  restless  eyes,  the 
thinnest  lips  I  had  seen  among  natives;  his  mouth  was 
wide,  and  his  teeth  large  and  white.  I  was  told  after  he 
left  that  this  was  one  of  the  chiefs  executioners;  and 
from  the  frequency  of  his  domiciliary  visits,  he  was  called 
by  the  Matebele  "  the  chiefs  knife."  I  thought  his  face 
befitted  his  office.  Waiting  in  the  neighbourhood  till  his 
victim  has  drunk  the  last  cup  of  beer,  he  gives  him  time 
to  fiEtll  into  that  stupor  of  sleep  and  drunkenness  out  of 
which  he  is  never  to  awake.  The  chiefs  knife  has  his 
assistants,  who  are   in  readiness  to  ^^mak'  siccar"  any 


326  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER.  . 

bloody  work;  for  Moselekatse  could  not  carry  on  his 
paternal  administration  with  only  one  ^  knife."  Accord- 
ing to  the  testimony  of  one  of  the  missionaries,  it  is 
nothing  for  him  to  send  in  one  night  four  or  fiye 
different  parties  of  vengeance,  to  hurry  the  inhabitants  of 
four  or  five  different  villages  into  eternity. 

The  death  of  Monyebe,  who  was  the  favourite  officer  of 
Moselekatse  when  the  ndssionaries  arrived,  illustrates  the 
social  life  of  the  .Matebele,  and  especially  the  position  of  the 
head  men.  Mony  ebe  was  a  wise  councillor,  as  he  had  been 
a  brave  soldier.  Moselekatse  kept  him  always  near  his 
person.  But  the  man  who  is  thus  in  attendance  on  a  Zulu 
chief  receives  many  valuable  presents.  Horses,  saddles, 
clothes,  guns,  beads,  were  given  by  Moselekatse  to  the 
officer  in  whom  he  had  such  pleasure.  The  other  officers 
became  violently  jealous  of  Monyebe's  prosperity.  They 
laid  their  heads  together  and  plotted  his  destruction. 
Jealous  of  one  another,  they  were  united  against  him  who 
was  preferred  before  them  all.  Innuendos  were  first  thrown 
out  in  the  hearing  of  the  chief;  vague  surmises  and  fears 
were  expressed ;  and  at  length  a  definite  charge  was  made 
against  Monyebe  for  witchcraft  and  intended  murder — 
murder  not  of  a  subject  but  of  the  king  himself.  For 
some  time  the  king  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  these  chaiges, 
but  the  head  men  were  inde&tigable.  They  gave  Mosele- 
katse no  rest.  His  life  was  at  stake,  they  declared,  and 
love  to  their  chief  was  their  sole  motive.  At  length,  sor- 
rowfully and  reluctantly,  the  chief  gave  the  officers  permis- 
sion to  kill  Monyebe.  The  next  morning  nothing  remained 
of  the  favoured  prime  minister,  or  his  wives  or  his  relatives 
or  his  servants,  or  his  property,  or  his  village,  but  a 
blackened  and  smoking  ruin.  The  sharp  assegai  had  done 
its  work,  and  fire  was  left  to  complete  the  destrncticm. 
Jealousy  was  for  the  time  appeased. 


A  MILITARY  TRIBE  AND  CHRISTlANITr.  327 

^  The  chief  has  made  a  narrow  escape,''  said  the  de- 
ceivers and  murderers,  as  they  hastened  to  acquaint  Mose- 
lekatse  of  Monyebe's  death.  "We  found  your  enemy's 
house  filled  with  medicines  and  charms  of  the  most  deadly 
description ;  the  wizard  we  hare  killed ;  his  medicines  we 
have  burned  in  the  houses  where  we  found  them." 

The  law  of  Moselekatse,  like  that  of  Tshaka,  from  whom 
he  broke  away,  forbade  his  soldiers  to  marry,  so  that  the 
increase  of  the  Matebele  depended  on  their  success  in  tak- 
ing children  in  war.  I  found  therefore  that  this  strange 
people  (they  can  hardly  with  propriety  be  termed  a  tribe) 
consisted  of  a  few  Zulus,  who  had  been  the  life-long  com- 
panions of  Moselekatse,  and  who,  under  him,  exercised 
authority  over  some  ten  or  twelve  thousand  soldiers,  who 
were  a  heterogeneous  assemblage  of  members  of  every  tribe 
through  which  Moselekatse  had  forced^ his  way  north. 
These  Zulus  were  all  advanced  in  years.  The  middle-aged 
and  full-grown  men  were  Bechuanas,  being  the  captives 
taken  when  the  Matebele  resided  iq  the  Transvaal  Lastly, 
the  young  men  were  Makalaka  and  Mashona,  the  captives 
whom  they  had  seized  since  they  came  into  the  country 
which  they  now  inhabit  The  captives  grow  up  in  the 
service  of  their  captors,  or  of  those  to  whom  they  sell  them 
within  the  tribe.  They  herd  cattle  in  time  of  peace ;  they 
cany  the  impedimenta  of  the  soldier  when  he  goes  to  war. 
At  home  they  practise  fighting  and  running  with  hoys  of 
their  own  age ;  in  the  field  they  are  familiarized  with  deeds 
of  blood.  Their  physical  frame  thus  becomes  more  fully 
developed  than  if  they  had  grown  up  in  their  own  unwar- 
like  and  ill-fed  tribes.  I  have  seen  children  of  Bushmen 
among  the  Matebele  whose  personal  appearance  formed  a 
perfect  contrast  to  their  ill-favoured  relatives  in  the  desert. 
As  the  captive  boys  grow  older,  they  become  impatient  of 
the  restraints  of  their  position,  and  laying  their  heads  to- 


328  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RITER. 

getber,  all  living  in  a  certain  town  march  off  in  a  body 
to  the  chiefs  quarters  imd  present  their  petition  to  Moee- 
lekatee  :  "  We  are  men,  0  King ;  we  are  no  longer  boya ; 
give  us  cattle  to  herd  and  to  defend."  If  the  chief  ap- 
proTea  of  their  petition,  he  drives  out  a  few  cowa  as  their 


Zaia  Herd-bar  iiitb  Huakal  lustiuiDiint.  Iliud-bay— PtaclfnlHead-iliMa. 

herd,  and  gives  these  boys  in  charge  of  an  experienced 
soldier,  with  some  assistants,  who,  in  the  new  tows  <h' 
barracks  which  they  erect,  proceed  to  trun  them  as  Mate- 
bele  soldiers.  This  is  called  to  "  bota."  It  is  in  this  way 
that  the  Matebele  army  is  supplied  with  men. 

The  new  mihtary  town  or  r(^;iment  is  called  by  the 


A  MILITARY  TRIBE  AND  CHRISTIANITY.  329 

same  name  as  the  one  in  which  they  lived  as  captive  boys. 
When  they  go  to  war  now,  it  is  as  a  company  of  that  regi- 
ment. But  they  are  no  longer  baggage-carriers ;  they  bear 
their  own  weapons  now  like  their  former  masters.  Should 
they  succeed  in  killing  and  in  taking  captive,  they  at  once 
occupy  the  position  of  their  former  owners,  and  on  a  second 
war  have  their  boy  to  carry  their  food  and  water.  Should 
they  not  succeed  in  killing  man,  woman,  or  little  child,  their 
position  is  still  one  of  dishonour.  They  are  not  men.  K 
at  the  camp  fire  they  sit  in  the  presence  of  comrades  whose 
spears  have  drunk  blood,  the  latter  will  sometimes  show 
contempt  for  them  by  rubbing  their  portion  of  meat  in  the 
sand,  and  then  throwing  it  to  them  as  to  a  dog.  There  is 
therefore  every  possible  inducement  to  animate  the  youth 
to  shed  blood  speedily.  On  their  return  journey  from  a  suc- 
cessful raid,  the  captives  are  during  the  night  tied  to  their 
captors,  or  to  trees,  to  prevent  their  escape.  Should  a 
captive  fail  on  the  march  after  his  master  is  tired  urging 
him  forward,  he  stabs  him  and  leaves  his  body  on  the  path^ 
The  Matebele  soldier-town  has  nothing  domestic  about  it ; 
it  is  not  a  town,  but  barracks.  The  voice  of  the  infSEmt, 
the  song  of  the  mother,  are  almost  unknown  there.  Only 
after  some  signal  service  does  the  chief  bestow,  as  a  great 
reward  to  the  soldier,  a  captive  girl  to  be  his  wife,  who  has 
no  choice  in  the  matter,  but  is  delivered  over  to  her  new 
owner  as  an  ox  is  given  to  another  man,  whose  deeds  have 
been  less  meritorious. 

Theoretically  all  distinctions  as  to  birth  are  unknown 
among  soldiers  whose  ears  have  all  been  slit  open  with  the 
spear,  and  who  are  equally  the  property  of  Moselekatse. 
But  this  was  not  carried  out  in  practice.  I  noticed  that 
soldiers  of  Zulu  extraction,  in  quarrelling  with  perhaps 
finer-looking  men  than  themselves — ^but  who  had  been 
originally  captive  boys — ^when  better  arguments  failed,  did 


330  HOETB  OF  THE  OHASOE  BIVER. 

not  forget  to  demand  what  right  Maehonft  or  MabJahi 
dogs  had  to  open  their  months  to  dispnte  with  their 
superiors.  In  this  I  saw  an  element  of  weakness  and 
danger  to  the  Matebele  as  a  tribe.  Soldiers  who  are 
reminded  that  thej  are  captive  doge  will  cease  to  r^ard 
with  interest  or  affection  the  cause  of  their  captors.     They 


need  only  a  certain  amount  of  intelligence  and  resohrtaon 
to  asseft  their  independence. 

These  soMiers  have  little  chance  of  obtaining  any  tni>^- 
ing  in  native  rel%ion  or  Buperstition.  Capturod  in  earty 
jrouth,  they  do  not  learn  the  mekhua  (fnores)  of  their  own 
forefathers;  and  not  being  Zulus,  they  are  inidated  by 


A  MILITARY  TRIBE  AND  CHRISTIANITY.  331 

the  Matebele  into  little  else  than  the  service  of  "Mosele- 
katse.  The  Zulus  are  careful  to  keep  up  their  own  customs 
among  themselves ;  but  I  did  not  learn  that  they  inculcated 
them  among  their  Makalaka  and  Mashona  vassals.  Like 
other  conquerors,  Moselekatse  himself  paid  a  certain  defer- 
ence to  the  religions  of  the  countries  which  he  conquered. 
For  instance,  he  sent  to  "  inquire  "  on  certain  occasions  at 
the  ^  Morimo ''  (god)  of  the  Makalaka.  When  I  was  in 
the  country,  about  a  dozen  Malokwana  priests  or  doctors 
from  the  south-east  of  the  Matebele  country,  were  busily 
engaged  in  making  rain  at  the  chiefs  camp.  They  were  in 
the  employment  of  Moselekatse,  and  would  be  handsomely 
paid  for  their  services.  But  then  these  religious  acts  were 
public  and  official,  and  apposed  to  be  proper  to  Mosele- 
katse as  chief.  All  such  questions  were  far  removed  from 
the  common  soldier's  thoughts,  which  were  debased  in  the 
extreme.  My  own  impression  of  the  Matebele  soldiers  was, 
that  the  mental  and  spiritual  parts  of  their  nature  had 
become  very  much  dwarfed  by  disuse ;  and  that  they  wer^ 
very  seldom  indeed  occupied  with  thoughts  about  the  Un- 
seen in  their  every-day  life.  Their  whole  training  as  youths ; 
their  incentives  in  the  prime  of  life ;  their  aims  and  their 
object-s  at  home  and  in  the  field,  were  very  brutal  and  de- 
graded. If  the  missionaries  approached  the  youths  with  the 
words  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  found  them  the  most  imprac- 
ticable and  unruly  class  in  the  country,  having  their  minds 
eagerly  set  on  the  attainment  of  their  full  manhood  through 
the  shedding  of  human  blood.  If  they  spoke  to  the  men 
who  had  gained  this  distinction,  and  were  glorying  in  their 
strength,  every  word  which  as  evangelists  they  uttered, 
tended,  according  to  Matebele  ideas,  to  unman  them, — ^to 
neutralize  the  deeds  of  which  they  were  vaunting.  The  men 
wear  a  necklace  of  wood,  every  link  of  which  represents 
an  enemy  slain  in  battle.     In  the  war-dance  they  step  out 


332  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

and  give  one  proud  thrust  with  the  assegai  for  eveiy 
enemy  they  have  killed.  Christianity  would  rob  them  of 
their  necklace,  and  deprive  them  of  their  public  boasting. 
If  the  missionaries  approached  the  old  men,  who,  alas !  were 
hot  numerous  in  such  a  land,  they  found  in  eveiy  case  that 
the  man's  nature,  blunted  by  the  deeds  of  his  manhood, 
was  now  still  farther  debased  by  habitual  dnmkenness  and 
excess.  And  if  such  were  the  men,  what,  in  the  light  of 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  were  the  women  of  the  Mate- 
bele,  who  were  not  the  equals  but  the  creatures  of  sach  men ! 
We  leave  their  condition  undescribed. 

The  people  of  Moselekatse  are  truly  far  from  GJod.     K 
there  is  such  a  state  as  preparedness   of  mind  for  the 
gospel,  then  the  Matebele  were  unprepared.     No  people 
could  need  it  more;   none  could  be  less  prepared  or  in- 
clined to  receive  it.     To  preach  the  gospel,  in  point  of 
fact,  was  to  condemn  their  whole  social  system  from  its 
very  roots.     To  call  upon   them  to  "join  the  word  of 
Grod"  was,  in  the  estimation  of  the  people,  to  tell  them  to 
desert  or  defy  Moselekatse.     "  The  chief  must  speak  first, 
and  then  we  shall  give  attention  to  the  word  of  God." 
This  was  the  language  of  several  soldiers  to  me,  when  con- 
versing with  them  on  this  subject.     You  may  go  on  to 
say  that  '^Morimo"  (God)   is  greater  than  Moselekatse, 
and  ought  to  be  first  served ;  that  the  service  of  the  one 
is  the  bondage  of  fear,  that  of  the   other  a  labour  of 
love.     K  the  man  is  alone,  some  impression  may  be  pro- 
duced in  his  mind ;  at  any  rate  he  will  wonder  as  to  wfaal 
the  meaning  of  this  new  idea  may  be.     But  in  tiie  pre- 
sence of  several  Matebele,  a  remark  such  as  the  above 
would  only  lead  to  opposition, — every  word  throwing  the 
slightest  slur  on  the  chief  being,  as  a  matter  of  coune  in 
such  circumstances,  received  with  loud  tokens  of  dissent 

In  other  countries  the  opposition  of  rulers  and  govern- 


L 


A  MILITARY  TRIBE  AND  CHRISTIANITY.  333 

ments  has  not  been  able  to  prevent  the  spread  of  Chris- 
tianity among  the  people.  It  will  no  doubt  be  so  in  the 
case  of  the  Matebele.  ''  When  a  strong  man  armed  keepeth 
his  palace,  his  goods  are  in  peace ;  but  when  a  stronger 
than  he  shall  come  upon  him,  and  orercome  him,  he  taketh 
from  him  all  his  armour  wherein  he  trusted,  and  divideth 
his  spoils."  But  the  strong  man  is  not  often  vanquished 
in  one  day.  He  is  not  stripped  of  all  his  armour  at  once. 
The  Christian  missionary  in  such  a  country  as  the  Matebele, 
is  glad  as  a  beginning  to  observe  that  the  pride  in  the 
heathenish  armour  decreases,  the  pleasure  in  its  use  dimi- 
nishes; and  he  hopes  that  at  length  each  part  will  be 
thrown  aside. 

Now,  there  are  some  supporters  of  missionary  societies  in 
whom  patience  is  not  a  conspicuous  virtue.  Forgetting  the 
past  history  of  Christianity  in  their  own  and  other  lands,  they 
seem  to  expect  to  see  the  yellow  harvest-field  as  soon  as 
the  husbandman  appears  on  the  wild  furze-covered  moor- 
land. There  is  to  be  no  laborious  or  preparatory  process  : 
the  end  is  to  be  attained  at  once.  ^  Is  not  the  Spirit  of 
Grod  all-powerfiil  r*  it  is  asked.  Now,  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
indeed  all-powerful,  and  His  operations  are  not  to  be 
limited,  nor  His  coming  or  going  to  be  explained,  any  more 
than  that  of  the  wind  to  which  He  is  likened.  The  power 
and  the  presence  of  this  Divine  Helper  constitute  the 
grounds  of  the  confidence  of  the  evangelist  in  Pagan 
lands.  The  minds  and  hearts  of  the  heathen,  however, 
upon  which  the  Spirit  acts,  are  not  everywhere  in  the  same 
condition.  Occasionally  there  has  been  a  special  prepared- 
ness for  the  work  of  the  evangelist.  For  instance,  the 
Karens  had  a  tradition  that  religious  teaching  was  to  come 
to  them  from  the  west.  When,  therefore,  the  missionaries 
appeared,  they  were  received  with  open  arms,  being  haUed 
as  the  expected  benefactors.     Here  was  ^  good  soil "  speci- 


334  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

ally  prepared  for  the  husbandman,  and  the  seed  sprang  up 
at  once.  But  when  missionaries  found  their  way  into  the 
country  of  the  Matebele,  their  position  was  very  different. 
The  natives  of  that  land  expected  not  good  but  evil  from 
the  white  man.  They  were  not  simple,  unsophisticated 
savages,  but  habitual  murderers  and  assassins — ^perpetraUos 
of  outrages  and  enormities  that  may  not  be  named.  The 
difficulties  connected  with  a  mission  in  such  a  countiy  must^ 
on  a  moment's  reflection,  be  apparent  to  every  one.  Hie  fiskct 
that  men  preaching  such  doctrines  as  the  missionaries 
advocated  were  not  speedily  expelled  from  the  country, 
would  seem  to  show  that  the  doctrines  themselves  touched 
chords  which  were  not  entirely  destroyed  even  in  the  hearts 
of  the  Matebele,  although  constantly  ignored  in  their  eveiy- 
day  life.  And  if  the  missionaries  who  were  received  with 
suspicion  and  distrust  at  the  outset,  and  who  constantly 
advocated  doctrines  unpopular,  unpatriotic,  and  iU^al  to 
the  Matebele,  nevertheless  grew  personally  in  the  &voor  of 
both  chief  and  people,  we  cannot  but  accord  to  them  indi- 
vidually high  commendation  in  connection  with  such  a 
result.  Nothing  but  the  rectitude  and  the  kindlineas  of 
the  Christian  character  could  have  procured  and  preserved 
for  them  the  friendship  of  such  a  people.  Above  all  must 
thanks  be  given  to  Grod  whose  Spirit  accompanied  His  ser- 
vants, commending  their  words  and  their  lives  to  the  hearts 
and  consciences  of  the  Matebele,  giving  them  fiivour  and 
respect  in  their  sight. 

It  seems  to  me  that  no  illustration  can  be  taken  from  the 
New  Testament  of  the  experiences  of  Christianity  in  sack 
a  land.  Nor  does  the  histoiy  of  the  earlier  Jewish  Chuich 
of  the  Old  Testament  supply  us  with  a  paralld.  In  the 
Matebele  we  have  an  organized  band  of  savages,  &r  more 
ignorant  and  degraded  than  the  Hebrew  slaves  who  left 
the  bondage  of  Egypt  for  the  promised  land  of  Canaan. 


A  MMTARY  TRIBE  AND  CHRISTIANITY.  335 

And  in  the  case  of  ihe  South  African  tribe,  we  have  the 
attempt  made  to  benefit  them  spiritually^  not  in  a  solitary 
wilderness,  where  they  would  be  completely  open  to  Divine 
influences,  and  under  the  immediate  control  of  their  Divine 
teacher,  but  while  the  people  remain  under  a  more  galling 
and  debasing  yoke  than  that  of  the  Pharaohs. 

It  is  true  that  men  have  all  gone  astray  like  lost  sheep ; 
but  some  would  seem  to  have  wandered  farther  than  others 
— ^have  indeed  gone  so  £Eir  that  the  shepherd  must  call 
repeatedly  before  his  voice  is  recognised,  and  must  him- 
self assist  their  return  by  clearing  away  many  miles  of 
entangling  thicket  before  they  reach  the  fold  and  the  rest 
of  the  flock.  When  such  a  lost  soul  hears  the  Divine 
voice,  and  responding,  although  with  fednt,  uncertain  accent^ 
"  I  will  arise,"  sets  out  on  tiie  journey — "  turning  round  " 
with  dissatisfaction  from  old  courses — few  would  allow 
that  the  still  degraded  man  is  '' converted."  He  was 
very  far  away,  and  is  long  in  returning.  He  sometimes 
£euIs,  and  forgets  again  to  rise  and  resume  his  journey.  He 
sees^  as  in  a  distant  land,  the  life  which  he  dimly  admires, 
and  wonders  if  he  can  ever  attain  unto  it.  In  many 
instances  the  man  dies  without  having  reached  the  intelli- 
gence, stability,  consistency  of  a  "  convert." 

Thus  in  the  Matebele  country  I  found  that  after  four 
yean'  teaching  by  my  friends  the  missionariea,  numy  of  the 
men  with  whom  they  had  come  into  contact  would  admit 
that  their  views  were  right,  and  that  the  Word  of  Grod  was 
**  truly  a  good  Word."  But  such  admissions  would  be 
made  only  if  the  person  were  alone  with  yourself;  the 
presence  of  another,  in  that  land  of  mutual  distrust,  would 
put  a  stop  to  all  such  remarks.  ''How  am  I  ever  to 
learn,"  said  a  soldier  to  me, ''  seeing  that  after  I  have  made 
a  beginning,  I  am  sure  to  be  called  away  on  the  business  of 
the  chief,  and  the  war  party  starts  before  I  have  made  any 


336         NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

progress.  And  when  we  come  back  from  the  war  we  are 
tired,  perhaps  wounded,  and  need  to  rest  before  we  can 
begin  again."  Poor  Matebele  soldier!  His  was  a 
wretched  lot;  yet  in  it  there  was  to  me  one  cheering 
thought — he  himself  began  to  be  displeased  with  it. 

In  tribes  which  do  not  possess  the  knowledge  of  letters, 
it  takes  some  time  before  people,  who  do  not  give  personal 
and  minute  attention  to  the  subject,  are  able  to  compre- 
hend the  true  use  of  books  or  of  writing.  Sekhome,  the 
chief  of  the  Bamangwato,  once  asked  me  if  Mr.  Price  was 
on  his  way  back  to  the  station,  and  upon  my  saying  thai 
I  did  not  know,  his  reply  was,  "  Well,  then,  ask  your  *  Kk- 
walo  *  (books) ;  will  they  not  tell  you  ^  "  In  the  Matebele 
country  ^  the  books "  were  regarded  at  the  time  of  my 
visit,  and  by  almost  all  with  whom  I  came  into  contact,  aa 
the  "  sacred  things  "  or  the  **  divining  things  "  of  the  white 
man's  religion.  To  "  learn  the  books  "  was  therefore  re- 
garded as  a  formal  entrance  upon  the  practice  of  the  white 
man's  mode  of  worship.  It  occupied  an  initial  position 
in  their  minds  similar  to  that  which  baptism  really  occu- 
pies. They  had  no  idea  that  a  man  might  learn  to  read, 
and  still  choose  to  remain  a  heathen. 

During  one  of  my  visits  to  Moselekatse,  I  had  a  conTer- 
sation  with  the  chief  upon  this  subject,  which  will  show 
his  skill  in  avoiding  what  was  unpleasant,  as  well  as  his 
deep  aversion  to  the  work  of  the  missionary.  I  began  by 
expressing  my  great  pleasure  and  thankfulness  to  see  that 
my  friends  at  Inyate  had  enjoyed  his  protection  and  his  hospi- 
tality. "  But  there  is  one  thing  which  very  much  sorpoises 
me,"  I  added.  The  chief  was  now  all  attention  to  hear  the 
complaint,  and  so  were  his  head  men  sitting  near.  ''I  am 
surprised  that  no  one  has  learned  to  read  the  Word  of  God 
during  these  years.  My  friends  are  quite  capable  of  teadi- 
ing  it :  it  is  indeed  what  they  have  specially  learned  to  da 


A  MILITARY  TRIBE  AND  CHRISTIANITY.  337 

When  I  see  that  your  people  are  more  handsome  than  all 
their  neighbours,  I  cannot  believe  that  they  are  unable  t<J 
learn.  You  know  you  yourself  invited  the  teachei:s,  and^ 
they  came ;  but  no  one  is  taught,  although  they  have  been 
here  for  years.  I  thought  I  should  ask  yourself  for  an 
explanation  of  this  strange  thing.'' 

After  a  pause,  during  which  every  one  seemed  to  wonder 
what  the  reply  would  be,  the  chief  said,  "  We  Matebele  like 
many  wives." 

"  But,"  I  rejoined,  "  a  man  with  many  wives  may  learn 
the  Word  of  Gk)d,  and  after  he  understands  it,  accept  of  it 
or  otherwise ;  and  as  for  the  children,  they  might  surely  all 
learn." 

Again  a  pause,  and  again  the  same  reply  :  "  We  Matebele 
like  many  wives."  Each  time  the  answer  was  given,  it 
was  loudly  cheered  by  the  he^  men  who  sat  near.  Mo-* 
selekatse  was  too  politic  to  enter  into  a  discussion  on  such 
a  subject.  He  seized  the  most  unpopular  tenet  of  the 
"  Word  of  God  "  from  the  Matebele  point  of  view,  and  held 
it  up  to  scorn.  I  learned  from  one  of  his  men  that  the 
chief,  after  we  left  his  presence,  proceeded,  amid  the  merri- 
ment of  his  attendants,  to  draw  a  ludicrous  picture  of  the 
state  of  Matebele  society  were  the  Christian  views  adopted. 
It  was  thus  apparent  that  whatever  obstacles  might  arise  in 
other  quarters,  the  greatest  of  all  was  the  determined  oppo- 
sition of  the  chief. 

The  following  anecdote  will  illustrate  the  amount  of 
knowledge  possessed  by  some  of  Moselekatse's  sons,  and 
two  or  three  head  men  of  the  Matebele,  at  the  date  of  my 
visit.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  none  of  them  resided  in  the 
district  regularly  visited  by  the  missionaries,  but  they 
must  nevertheless  have  come  into  frequent  contact  with 
them,  both  at  Inyate  and  at  the  head-quarters  of  the  chief. 
Mr.  Sykes  and  I  were  on  a  visit  to  Moselekatse,  and  the 

Y 


338  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

^rmer,  who  is  a  diligent  and  most  successful  student  of  tlie 
Zulu   language,  of  which   Setebele   is  a   corruption,   was 
availing  himself  of  the  opportunity  of  meeting  with    the 
chiefs  sons  and  other  Zulus,  to  compare  the  language  as 
spoken  by  them  with  that  given  in  a  Zulu  lexicon  which  he 
held  in  his  hand.     The  young  men  were  amazed  when  Mr. 
Sykes  read  off  to  them  the  Zulu  form  of  certain  words 
which  had  become  changed  in  the  Setebele  dialect.     They 
recognised  some  of  the  expressions  as  still  used  by  the  old 
men.     "  To-day  I  see  your  books  are  not  *  dice '  or  '  divin- 
ing things,' "  said  one  of  Moselekatse's  sons,  '*  but  contain 
real  words."      Some  of  the  company,  however,  thought 
this  praise  was  too  hastily  given,  and  expressed  their 
dissent     Mr.  Sykes  bethought  him  of  a  plan  by  which 
he  hoped  to  enlighten  and  convince  all  as  to  the  use 
and    power   of    letters.      Calling    upon    the    man  who 
had  expressed  his  doubts  to  follow  him,  they  left  the  tent 
together.     When  they  were  alone  outside,  Mr.  Sykes  re- 
quested him  to  suggest  a  word — ^any  one  he  liked — ^which 
he  would  write  down ;  assuring  him  that  I,  although  now 
out  of  hearing,  would  be  able  to  teU  the  word  to  every  one 
in  the  tent  as  soon  as  I  saw  the  paper.     This  was  a  chal- 
lenge which  the  man  at  once  accepted,  and  whispered  a 
word  to  Mr.  Sykes  which  was  duly  written  down.     The 
two  then  re-entered  the  tent,  and  the  man  explained  to 
his  friends  what  had  been  done.     The  paper  was  now 
handed  to  me,  amid  the  breathless  attention  of  alL     When 
I  at  once  pronounced  the  word  written,  the  surprise  was 
universal  and  genuine.     But  some  of  a  *^  sceptical  **  turn 
of  mind,  or  perhaps  with  greater  curiosity  than  others, 
requested  Mr.  Sykes  to  go  out  with  them  also.     As  eveiy 
experiment  produced  the  same  result,  the  paper  always 
telling  me  what  the  man  had  whispered  into  Mr.  Sykes's 
ear,  conviction  was  at  length  produced ;  and  their  language 


A  MILITABY  TRIBE  AND  CHRISTIANITY.  339 

was  ransacked  for  encomiums  with  which  to  characterize 
the  wisdom  of  the  white  men.  Even  then,  however,  they 
could  have  only  a  very  imperfect  idea  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  letters  were  formed  into  words. 

I  found  on  inquiry  that  as  the  result  of  the  advice  of 
Mr.  Moffat  and  of  the  resident  missionaries,  the  enforced 
celibacy  of  the  common  soldiers  had  been  considerably 
relaxed  by  Moselekatse.  The  soldiers  admitted  this  to 
me,  and  owned  that  a  change  had  been  produced  in  the 
administration  of  the  chief  in  this  respect  as  a  result  of 
the  advice  of  missionaries.  But  as  far  as  barracks  are 
changed  into  homes,  so  far  is  a  deadly  blow  struck 
at  the  brutal  war-parties  of  the  Matebele.  When  they 
have  wives  and  children  at  home,  one  great  inducement  to 
go  on  such  parties  will  be  removed.  At  the  time  of  my 
visit  the  counsels  of  the  missionaries  had  not  prevailed  in 
putting  a  stop  to  these  war-parties.  But  latterly  the  chief 
seemed  to  be  more  anxious  for  them  than  the  people. 
Uneasiness  and  disinclination  to  go  to  war  were  not  always 
hidden  fi'om  the  missionaries  by  the  people,  although  they 
dreaded  to  impugn  the  conduct  of  their  chief.  Up  to  the 
time  of  his  death  Moselekatse  continued  every  year  to 
assemble  his  forces  and  let  them  loose  on  the  Mashona  or 
some  other  neighbouring  tribe.  To  have  caused  these 
war-parties  to  cease  would  have  been  to  accomplish  a  com- 
plete revolution  in  the  supreme  policy  of  the  tribe.  It 
could  only  have  been  effected  by  the  action  of  the  chief 
himself,  and  a  large  majority  of  the  head  men  and  common 
soldiers. 

But  the  bloodthirstiness  of  the  Matebele  has  certainly 
decreased  since  their  contact  with  missionaries.  The  latter 
have  repeatedly  told  the  soldiers  of  Moselekatse  that 
it  is  a  disgrace  to  kill  old  people  and  women  and  children 
in  war,  and  that  English  soldiers  fight  only  with  those  who 


340  NOKTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

are  armed.  I  never  saw  greater  ''  shame  and  confusioii  of 
face ''  in  a  black  man  than  in  the  case  of  a  partj  of  soldiers 
at  Inyate,  before  whom  I  was  imitating  the  retreating 
form  of  a  decrepit  old  man  hobbling  away  into  the  bushes, 
and  the  aged  woman  appealing  to  their  mercj,  while  they 
followed  and  speared  all  indiscriminately.  Had  they  been 
white  men  the  blush  on  their  faces  would  have  been  deep. 
In  black  men  this  expression  is  cliiefiy  to  be  detected  about 
the  eyes  and  mouth.  On  one  occasion,  while  we  were  on 
a  visit  to  his  quarters,  Moselekatse  called  Mr.  Sykes  to  his 
waggon  to  converse  with  him.  He  wished  the  missionaiy 
to  give  up  residing  at  Inyate,  and  to  come  and  live  with 
him.  ^'  I  am  always  glad  when  you  missionaries  are  near 
to  me,"  said  the  aged  chief.  "  My  heart  is  white  when  I 
see  you.  When  I  have  you  at  my  encampment  I  say  to 
myself,  God  is  with  me."  Distrusting  his  own  men,  the 
chief  knew  he  could  alwajrs  trust  the  missionaiy.  **  We 
always  take  notice,"  the  officers  of  the  chief  remarked  on 
another  occasion,  'Hhat  the  chief  does  not  kill  so  many 
people  when  you  white  men  are  at  his  camp.  He  loves 
the  white  men,  and  he  knows  they  don*t  like  blood- 
shed." 

When  some  people  are  told  that  converts  to  Christiaiiity 
are  not  likely — so  far  as  man  can  judge — to  appear  speedily 
in  such  countries  as  the  Matebele,  they  rush  to  the  conclosiini 
that  Christianity  cannot  produce  the  desired  change  at  aD. 
Like  the  ignorant  practitioner  who  having  tried  one  remedy 
without  result,  hastens  to  administer  another,  these  people 
exclaim,  ^'You  must  civilize  before  you  Christianixe  Uie 
savage  tribes."  Others  again  hold  the  very  opposite 
opinion,  and  assert  that  Christianity  may  be  calculated  to 
improve  rude  and  savage  men,  but  is  effete  in  the  ethereal 
regions  of  modem  culture.  According  to  another  view 
Christianity  and  civilisation  lead  only  to  the  deterioration 


A  MILITABY  TRIBE  AND  CHRISTIANITY.  341 

of  barbarous  nations.  Le  Yaillant,  one  of  the  earliest 
writers  on  South  Africa,  propounds  this  notion.  He  says  : 
'^  In  a  state  of  nature  man  is  essentially  good ;  why  should 
the  Hottentot  be  an  exception  to  the  rule  1 "  *  Why, 
indeed !  Le  Vaillant  was  very  much  pleased  with  the  "  fair 
Narina ''  in  her  African  attire ;  and  if  others  might  object 
to  the  buchu-scent  and  the  smearing  of  the  body,  these 
were  objections  only  to  externals ;  the  girl  herself  was,  like 
her  countrymen,  and  everybody  else,  "  in  a  state  of  nature, 
essentially  good.'' 

But  the  theorists  in  question  would  not  be  agreed  as  to 
the  "  chief  end"  of  man's  existence,  or  the  standard  toward 
which  the  nations  are  to  be  ndsed.  Indeed  Le  Vaillant 
would  aflirm  that  we  must  all  return  to  a  *^  state  of  nature  " 
— whatever  that  might  mean.  I  for  one  would  object  to 
this.  I  have  had  some  years'  experience  of  man  in  the 
state  to  which  the  Frenchman  probably  referred,  and  even 
in  this  chapter  have  given  abundant  proof  that  he  is  not 
therein  ''essentially  good."  The  moral  standard  of  others  is 
not  perhaps  much  higher  than  that  of  Le  Vaillant,  although 
they  are  more  fastidious  as  to  outward  appearances.  But 
what  is  civilisation  without  the  sanctions  and  restraints  of 
religion)  Mere  refinement,  however  arrayed  in  elegance 
and  beauty  and  affluence,  may  be  after  all  only  the  selfish- 
ness of  the  heathen  in  gaudier  attire.  Or,  if  we  affirm  that 
it  is  ''  French  polish,"  our  meaning  will  probably  not  be 
misunderstood.  Now  this  article  is  very  thin,  and  easily 
rubbed  off,  as  we  have  often  seen,  and  the  ugliness  which 
is  then  revealed  is  all  the  more  glaring  on  account  of  the 
fair  and  prepossessing  exterior. 

But  let  us  take  it  for  granted  that  our  object  is  to  induce 
men  everywhere  to  love  God  and  to  love  one  another. 
How  is  this  to  be  accomplished  t     It  will  be  admitted  that 

1  Le  Vaillant's  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  149. 


342  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

this  end  would  not  of  necessity  be  attained,  although  the 
savage  had  become  the  artisan,  or  the  man  who  now 
beats  out  his  assegai  on  a  stone  had  learned  to  fashion  a 
breech-loading  rifle  or  a  mitnulleuse.  For  my  own  part 
I  come  from  the  mission-field  with  the  earnest  belief  that 
,  the  teaching  and  the  living  of  Christianity  in  a  heathen 
land  is  the  only  practicable  method  of  leading  men  to 
love  God  and  to  love  one  another.  I  believe  in  the  go^ 
of  Jesus  Christ  for  "  every  creature."  But  then,  religion 
does  not  despise  civilisation  and  the  useful  arts,  as  if  she 
had  no  need  of  them.  Foolish  men  may  flaunt  an  empty 
name  before  us,  and  affirm  that  civilisation^  without  re- 
ligion is  enough  to  bless  mankind ;  and  others  may  have 
been  led  into  the  region  of  theory,  in  speaking  of  what 
religion  could  do  without  civilisation.  But  as  a  practical 
question,  in  connection  with  the  elevation  of  the  heathen 
nations,  it  seems  to  me  a  gratuitous  thing  to  separate  in 
theory  those  things  which  are  never  separated  in  pnctica 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  religion  and  civilisation  always  have 
gone  hand  in  hand  in  African  missions.  The  missionaiy 
endeavours  to  introduce  and  to  exhibit  both,  in  his  teach- 
ing and  in  his  life.  Eeligion  is  the  mistress ;  civilisation 
her  attendant  and  servant.  The  one  appeals  to  the  deepest 
and  strongest  feelings  of  man ;  the  other  enables  him  to 
carry  into  practice  his  new  thoughts.  Industry  and  civilisa- 
tion at  a  mission  station  are  religion  in  practice.  Its  divinest 
fragrance  ascends  like  precious  incense  to  Heaven,  but  its 
fruits  are  visible  to  men.     Christianity  may  be  long  in 

*  We  all  know  who  spoke  of  "  a  certain  rich  inan,"  who  lired  in  ill  tke 
elegance  of  Eastern  refinement,  and  of  the  poor  beggar  who  was  left  at  hi* 
door  to  be  fed  with  crumbs,  and  whose  only  medical  attendants  were  the 
dogs  who  licked  his  sores.  Religion  raised  the  faithful  beggar  to  beaniL 
Civilisation  and  refinement  engrossed  the  attention  of  the  rich  man  in  * 
liie  of  elegant  selfishness.  He  lived  neither  for  God  nor  for  his  fellow- 
men.    "  In  bell  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torment. ** 


A  MILITAKY  TRIBE  AND  CHMSTIANITY.  343 

swaying  the  heathen;  nothing  else  would  move  him  so 
soon.  There  may  be  an  interval  between  the  first  intro- 
duction of  Christianity  and  its  reception  by  the  people. 
Such  intervab  are  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception  in 
modem  missions.  Whatever  name  we  choose  to  apply  to 
this  sometimes  protracted  stage  in  the  history  of  a  mission, 
it  is  of  importance  to  remember  that  Christianity  is  the 
leading  agent  which  is  silently  working  the  change.  AVlien 
Christian  churches  return  to  a  primitive  model,  and  make 
the  spreading  of  Christianity  in  the  world  the  great  end 
of  their  organization,  one  of  the  questions  which  will  no 
doubt  occupy  their  attention  will  be — ^how  practical  and 
industrial  Christianity  may  be  best  exhibited  in  barbarous 
countries  in  connection  with  our  missions,  on  a  more  exten- 
sire  scale  than  at  present. 

In  Southern  Afirica,  in  those  districts  of  which  I  am 
treating,  Providence  would  seem  to  have  linked  together 
the  introduction  of  Christianity  with  the  destruction  of 
all  possibility  of  the  old  way  of  living.  The  spread  of 
Europeans  in  the  country,  and  the  gradual  introduction  of 
guns  and  horses  into  the  interior,  lead  to  the  wholesale 
destruction  of  game,  upon  which  formerly  the  natives 
largely  subsisted.  An  extensive  and  deadly  epidemic 
among  the  cattle  still  further  curtailed  their  means  of 
living  the  old  lazy  heathen  life.  As  a  matter  of  fact  those 
events  render  industry  absolutely  necessary  on  the  part  of 
the  natives.     They  must  work,  if  they  would  eat. 

In  the  Matebele  country  as  soon  as  missionaries  made 
their  appearance,  traders  followed  them.  Ivory,  which 
Moselekatse  had  kept  in  store  for  years,  was  then  disposed 
of  on  terms  which  were  satisfactory  to  both  the  chief  and 
the  traders.  As  an  adjunct  to  the  work  of  the  missionary, 
this  trading  was  of  great  consequence.  It  directed  the 
minds  of  the  people  into  other  channels  besides  rapine  and 


344  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

blood.     The  ivory  in  store  was  soon  exhausted^  and  then 
the  Matebele,  with  their  recently  purchased  guns,  began  to 
kill  elephants  and  ostriches,  for  the  sake  of  trade.    The 
produce  of  the  chase,  like  everything  else,  belonged  to  the 
chief,  but  he  was  pleased  to  waive  his  claim  to  the  feathers 
of  the  ostrich.     Thus  it  was  possible  for  a  common  soldier 
to  obtain  the  things  of  the  white  men ;  and  property  conld 
now  be  held  by  those  who  a  short  time  before  had  little 
else  than  their  spears  and  their  shields.     One  drawback 
to  their  engaging  in  such  a  career  with  pleasure  was  that 
the  Bechuanas  already   excelled  in  hunting,   and  were 
usually  dressed  in  European  clothes  when  they  entered  the 
Matebele  country  in  the  service  of  white  men.     To  hunt, 
therefore,  or  to  be  dressed  in  the  clothes  which  the  traders 
brought,  was  to  descend  to  the  position  of  the  Bechuanas, 
who  were  despised  by  the  Matebele,  as  less  powerful  than 
themselves  in  war.     And  it  did  not  comfort  them  to  think 
that  the  white  men  also  wore  such  clothing,  because  wh^ 
the  Matebele  donned  the  European  dress  they  found  they 
were  not  so  much  like  Englishmen  as  they  were  like 
Bechuanas !      Thinking   that   an   athletic  people  might 
appreciate  the  supposed  freedom  of  the  '^Garb  of  M 
Gaul,"  Mr.  Moffat  presented  Moselekatse  with  a  Highland 
kilt  and  appurtenances.     But  it  was  never  worn.    The 
Matebele  preferred  their  own  cincture  of  wild-cats'  tails  to 
the  cincture  of  the  Scotch  mountaineers.     K  they  doffed 
their  own  dress  at  all,  it  was  only  to  don  the  clothing 
which  they  saw  in  use  among  the  white  men  around  them. 
As  long  as  I  was  in  the  country  I  continued  to  be 
known  as  "  Sekhome's  missionary."     During  one  of  my 
visits  to  the  chiefs  quarters,  a  regiment  of  soldiers  was 
assembled,  which  had  formed  part  of  the  war-party  against 
iSekhome.     While  walking  near  my  waggons  in  company 
with  Mbego,  the  head  man  of  Sokindaba,  I  observed  these 


A  MIUTAEY  TRIBE  AND  CHRISTIANIXy.  345 

men  looking  and  pointing  to  me.  I  asked  my  companion 
what  they  meant.  "  They  say  they  recognise  you ;  and 
that  you  fought  against  them  at  Sekhome's."  I  went  up 
to  the  men,  and  asked  them  why  they  were  pointing  at  me. 

They  smiled,  and  said,  ^'  Because  it  was  you  who  shot 
us  at  Sekhome's." 

''But  do  you  really  mean  to  assert  that  you  saw  me 
there  1"  I  inquired.  "  Take  a  good  look  now — not  at  the 
clothes,  but  at  the  face." 

"  Well,  we  are  not  quite  sure,  but  we  think  so ;  and  the 
Bamangwato  prisoners  told  us  that  the  white  men  were 
helping  Sekhome." 

Seeing  that  they  were  all  young'men,  I  replied,  "  Some 
of  you  say  I  was  fighting  against  you,  some  of  you  say 
you  are  not  sure.  It  is  evident  you  have  never  seen  white 
men  fight.  Should  you  ever  meet  them  in  battle,  depend 
on  it  there  will  not  be  two  opinions  among  you  as  to  who 
your  opponents  are.  You  will  at  once  perceive  that  they 
are  neither  Bamangwato  nor  Mashona."  I  went  on  to 
assure  them  that  not  a  single  white  man  had  fired  a  shot  in 
behalf  of  Sekhome.  Those  whom  they  mistook  for  white 
men  were  Sekhome's  sons  and  their  servants,  who  were 
dressed  in  white  men's  clothing.  I  occupied  at  Sekhome's 
the  position  which  their  own  missionaries  did  there,  and  they 
all  knew  they  were  the  enemies  of  war.  The  head  man 
enjoyed  my  reply,  and  was  glad  to  amplify  my  remarks, 
declaring  that  the  soldiers  had  seen  nothing  at  Sekhome's 
in  comparison  to  what  he  and  his  equals  had  experienced  in 
the  "  old  wars,"  etc.  I  often  saw  my  horse  pointed  out  by 
the  Matebele  soldiers,  as  they  passed  Inyate,  with  the  re- 
mark, "  That  is  the  horse  of  Sekhome's  missionary,  who  shot 
so  many  of  us  in  the  fight"  Now,  my  horse  was  a  roan, 
and  there  was  not  a  single  one  of  that  colour  in  the  pos- 
session  of  those   who  fought  under   Khame.      But  the 


346  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

Matebele  are  not  much  accustomed  to  horses ;  and  when 
I  heard  these  remarks,  made  with  such  confidence,  I  was 
thankful  that  I  had  not  carried  out  my  intention  of  visit' 
ing  the  camp  of  the  Matebele  while  they  were  dose  to 
Shoshong,  as  I  at  one  time  proposed  to  do.  The  Matebele 
were  still  very  reluctant  to  believe  that  Bamangwato  coold 
manage  guns  and  horses  with  such  effect ;  and  they  had 
been  deceived  by  the  Bamangwato  prisoners,  who  magni- 
fied the  strength  of  the  town  as  much  as  they  could,  and 
roundly  asserted  that  a  party  of  white  men  were  fi^litiog 
for  their  chief 

During  my  stay  in  his  country,  Moselekatse  agreed  to 
allow  me  to   form   a  new  station  on  the   same  terms 
that  my  friends  enjoyed  at  Inyate.     But  when  I  con- 
sidered the  facilities  for  instruction  afforded  by  the  milder 
government  of  the  Bechuana  chiefs,  as  contrasted  with  the 
unyielding  sway  of  Moselekatse,  I  resolved  in  the  mean- 
time to  return  to  Shoshong,  and  submit  the  offer  of  Mosde- 
katse  and  the  circumstances  of  the  Matebele  mission  to  the 
consideration  of  the  Directors  in  London.     That  mission 
was  now  happily  through  the  crisis  on  account  of  which  I 
had  joined  it ;  and  I  did  not  conceive  it  to  be  right  for  me 
to  relinquish  the  direct  and  active  work  of  instrndioD 
elsewhere   for  such  a  position   as  my  friends  occupied 
among  the  Matebele.     When  I  had  made  up  my  mind,  I 
rode  over  to  Moselekatse's  quarters  to  thank  him  for  the 
offer  of  a  site  for  a  station  which  he  had  given  ;  but  said 
that  I  should  first  return  to  Shoshong,  where  my  "  bagdn" 
(fathers,  directors)  had  placed  me ;  and  if  they  agreed  to 
my  returning  I  should  come  back.     This  elicited  the  omd- 
mendations  of  the  chief :  "  This  is  how  the  white  men  pre- 
vail, by  the  obedience  which  they  render  to  superiars." 
Turning  to  me,  he  asked,  "  Will  you  come  back  in  the 
winter]"     I  replied  that  I  did  not  think  so;   indeed, it 


A  MILITAKT  TRIBE  AND  CHRISTIANITY.  347 

was  uncertain  whether  I  should  come  back  at  all.  This 
answer  also  met  with  approval :  "  Makense  is  no  deceiver ; 
other  white  men  speak  pleasantly,  and  tell  me  they  will  be 
back  soon,  but  never  return." 

Every  year  the  Matebele  celebrate  the  "pina  ea  Morimo" 
(the  dance  or  religious  service  of  Grod)  before  the  departure 
of  the  war-parties  which  are  organized  by  the  chief.  This 
annual  assembly  was  about  to  take  place  when  I  left  the 
country.  The  soldiers  had  begun  to  arrive  in  full  dress, 
with  their  large  war-shields,  and  their  heads  and  arms 
decorated  with  the  black  feathers  of  the  ostrich,  which  are 
so  arranged  as  almost  to  hide  the  contour  of  the  human 
form,  and  enable  the  soldier  to  represent  a  fiiry  or  war- 
demon  more  than  a  man.  One  of  the  last  ceremonies 
performed  by  the  soldiers  before  their  departure,  is  to 
catch  a  bull  devoted  to  this  purpose,  holding  it  fast  with- 
out the  aid  of  rope  or  halter,  while  a  large  piece  of  meat 
is  cut  out  of  one  of  its  hind-lega.  When  this  operation  is 
complete,  the  bull  is  let  free ;  but  of  course  it  cannot  go  far. 
The  meat  which  has  been  taken  from  the  leg  of  the  living 
animal  is  now  thrown  upon  the  embers  of  a  fire  lighted 
for  the  purpose,  and  after  being  turned  once  or  twice  on 
the  coals,  and  long  before  it  is  roasted,  it  is  taken  off  the 
fire,  and  every  soldier  in  turn  partakes  of  it.  This  cere- 
mony is  supposed  to  qualify  them  for  the  part  they  shall 
have  to  play  in  the  coming  campaign. 

When  I  last  saw  Moselekatse,  he  was  very  ill,  unable  to 
lift  the  cup  to  his  own  Ups.  He  begged  hard  for  medicine. 
But  it  would  have  been  a  hazardous  thing  for  '^  Sekhome's 
missionary  "  to  have  dosed  Moselekatse  just  before  leaving 
the  country.  Any  temporary  discomfort  produced  by  the 
medicine  would  have  roused  the  suspicions  of  those  who 
never  cease  speaking  of  witchcraft  and  poisoning.  Besides, 
the  old  man's  disease  was  practically  incurable ;  and  my 


348  NOBTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVEE. 

answer  to  him  was  that  ''  I  had  no  medicine  which  would 
make  him  better." 

"  Would  you  tell  that  to  your  own  father,  if  he  were  m 
my  position  to-day  1"  pleaded  the  aged  chief. 

I  was  heartily  sorry  for  him ;  and  was  glad  to  be  able 
to  say  that  his  own  missionaries  would  be  ready  to  assist 
him  in  this  way,  as  they  had  done  before.  To  show  the 
respect  entertained  by  the  chief  for  missionaries,  and 
something  akin  to  the  dignity  attaching  to  his  own  duu^ 
acter,  I  may  mention  that,  as  we  entered  the  yard  previous 
to  my  final  interview,  we  were  informed  by  an  attendant 
that ''  we  must  not  be  offended,  the  chiefs  heart  was  white 
toward  us ;  but  there  would  be  no  shaking  of  hands  in 
greeting  that  day."  We  soon  saw  the  reason  :  the  chief 
had  not  power  to  move  his  arms  from  where  they  lay. 

When  I  was  leaving  the  country,  my  waggons  stuck  fast 
in  a  deep  rut  opposite  one  of  the  towns.  Some  scores  of 
soldiers  came  out  to  witness  the  efforts  of  the  oxen  to  poll 
the  waggon  out. 

"Go  back  to  Inyate  and  live  there,"  said  the  meti; 
^Mon*t  you  see  that  the  waggon  refuses  to  go  again  to 
Sekhomel" 

I  had  now  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  the  united 
strength  of  these  men  in  pulling  a  waggon.  I  b^ged 
their  assistance  from  their  officer,  who  was  present ;  but 
the  men  consented  to  pull  the  waggon  out  only  on  condi- 
tion that  I  would  imyoke  my  oxen,  and  leave  it  entirdy 
in  their  hands.  As  soon  as  I  had  done  this,  they  raised  a 
chorus ;  and  during  the  singing  of  the  first  line  or  two 
they  were  all  making  preparations,  and  securing  good  hold 
of  the  waggon.  When  they  reached  a  certain  word  in  the 
song,  every  energy  was  put  forth  by  common  consent,  and 
the  waggon  was  at  once  in  motion.  "  Tusa !  tusa ! "  (help) 
was  now  the  cry.    Not  being  able  to  pay  nearly  a  hundred 


A  MILITARY  TRIBE  AND  CHRISTIANITY.  349 

men,  I  persuaded  the  officer  to  take  the  payment,  and  give 
it  to  his  soldiers.  I  first  gave  some  bullets ;  these  were 
scattered  in  the  crowd  of  men,  who  growled  and  roared  as 
they  pressed  on  one  another  in  the  scramble.  The  officet 
now  said  that  I  must  give  a  bit  of  calico  also. 

"  But,"  I  said, "  I  have  not  enough  to  go  over  them  all." 
"  Never  mind ;  hand  wliat  you  wish  to  give  to  me." 
I  gave  the  man  two  or  three  yards  of  thin  print,  which, 
gathering  into  a  lump  in  his  hand,  he  threw  among  the 
men.  There  was  now  another  scramble,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  I  beheld  one  man  with  a  shred  of  cloth  encircling 
his  brow,  another  had  enough  to  tie  round  his  neck,  a 
third  stuck  his  portion  as  an  ornament  into  his  ear! 
Every  one  was  now  pleased ;  so  I  again  yoked  my  oxen 
and  proceeded  on  my  way. 

Our  friends  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sykes  accompanied  us  as  Ceo* 
as  the  borders  of  Moselekatse's  country.  In  that  distant 
mission-field  such  a  journey  in  the  waggon  is  appreciated 
as  a  ''change"  in  the  life  of  the  missionary.  Families 
usually  return  to  their  station  with  recruited  health  and 
vigour  after  a  week  or  fortnight's  tour,  during  which  mis- 
sionary work  has  been  done  in  villages  and  by  the  wayside. 
Late  one  Saturday  we  reached  the  Shashane  river,  in  the 
Makalaka  country.  We  were  benighted  before  the  last 
waggon  was  pulled  through  the  sandy  bed  of  the  river, 
both  men  and  oxen  being  exhausted  after  a  long  day's 
ride.  To  complete  our  discomfort,  it  commenced  to  rain 
while  we  were  still  working  in  the  drift,  arranging  twenty  or 
thirty  weary  oxen  before  one  waggon.  Instead  of  a  cheer- 
ftd  camp  with  a  bright  fire,  our  waggons  were  standing 
under  some  spreading  acacias  in  complete  darkness — a  small 
fire  struggling  with  the  rain  being  completely  surrounded 
by  some  Matebele  soldiers  who  were  then  with  us.  Instead 
of  a  comfortable  pen  for  our  cattle  near  to  the  waggons, 


350  NOKTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

there  was  no  pen  at  all,  and  the  cattle  were  lying  about  on 
all  sides.     There  was,  however,  a  cheerful  light  inside  my 
waggon^  and  a  bright  face  too,  and  a  warm  cup  of  coffee 
ready  to  refresh  me  after  my  day's  work.     But  there  is 
many  a  slip  between  the  cup  and  the  lip.     Before  I  had 
tasted  it  I  heard  first  the  howl  of  the  hyena,  and  then  the 
low  growl  of  the  lion.     There  was  no  mistaking  either,  so 
I  had  at  once  to  see  to  the  safety  of  the  camp.    We  were  ce^ 
tainly  in  a  nice  predicament — without  a  cattle-pen — ^withoot 
a  fire — ^without  even  firewood !    Between  the  darkness  of  the 
night  and  the  shadow  of  the  trees  I  could  see  nothing  what- 
ever outside.    Having  a  good  glass  lantern,  I  succeeded  in  in- 
ducing some  of  the  men  to  accompany  me  to  collect  firewood, 
and  to  light  new  fires,  so  as  to  encircle  our  camp.    Hr. 
Sykes  did  the  same  at  another  side  with  the  aid  of  his  men. 
What  was  the  lion  doing  all  the  while )     He  never  had  a 
better  chance  of  getting  beef,  but  his  courage  failed  him. 
My  dog  Nero,  which  had  been  in  a  decidedly  pugnadoos 
humour  that  evening,  having  had  a  long  and  severe  fi^t 
with  another  dog,  as  soon  as  he  heard  the  lion  and  hyena, 
went  out  to  meet  them,  and  barked  loudly  between  them 
and  the  cattle.     When  our  fires  were  ready,  we  collected 
the  cattle,  and  brought  them  inside  our  enclosure.     I  may 
explain  that  the  lion  had  approached  on  the  leeward  side ; 
therefore,  while  the  oxen  were  uneasy  at  the  sound  of 
his  first  and  only  low  growl,  they  were  not  so  terrified  and 
unmanageable  as  they  might  have  become  had  our  enemy 
approached  us  from  the  windward,  so  as  to  enable  them  to 
get  his  scent.     Aware  of  this,  the  lion  endeavoured  once  or 
twice  to  get  past  the  dog,  and  round  the  circle  of  fires  to 
the  other  side.     He  succeeded  twice,  but  was  on  both  occa- 
sions followed^  in  the  darkness  by  our  noble  defender.    Bat 
do  I  mean  to  affirm  that  a  dog  ventured  to  attack  a  Hon! 
The  dog  of  course  could  not  have  gone  near  to  the  lion,  for 


A  MILITART  TRIBE  AND  CHRISTIANITY.  351 

a  single  stroke  of  his  paw  would  have  killed  it  at  once.  At 
one  time  it  must  have  ventured  too  close,  for  it  suddenly 
gave  a  scream  of  terror,  and  then  its  bark  was  silent  I 
thought  it  was  all  over  with  my  faithful  dog.  But  after  a 
rush  through  the  bushes,  which  I  could  distinctly  hear,  his 
loud  deep  bark  was  heard  in  a  different  quarter.  The  lion 
must  have  made  a  spring  at  the  dog,  and  just  missing  him, 
run  for  the  other  side  of  the  oxen ;  when,  nothing  daunted 
by  his  narrow  escape,  the  dog  stuck  to  his  place  between 
the  lion  and  his  master's  property.  But  why  did  not  the 
lion  rush  past  him  at  once,  entirely  ignoring  his  existence 
and  his  barking  t  The  dog  no  doubt  would  have  given 
way.  Now,  I  don't  know  why  the  lion  was  not  bolder 
than  he  showed  himself  to  be.  All  I  know  is,  Nero 
never  let  him  get  past  him  toward  the  cattle.  I  conjecture 
that  the  lion  was  prevented  from  making  a  spring,  not  on 
account  of  the  dog's  presence,  but  on  account  of  his  barking. 
If  all  thieves  had  bells  tied  to  them  which  they  could  not 
keep  from  ringing,  or  even  if  loud-barking  dogs  always 
accompanied  them,  and  baited  them,  they  might  not  fear 
the  dogs  much,  and  the  bells  not  at  all,  but  they  would 
consider  it  very  awkward  to  ply  their  stealthy  work  in 
such  unfavourable  circumstances.  And  so  the  lion  cared 
nothing  for  the  dog  as  an  opponent ;  but  how  was  he  to 
know  how  many  invisible  enemies  were  roused  by  so  much 
noise  1  60  where  he  liked,  the  barking  went  with  him. 
When  this  had  gone  on  for  some  hours,  I  felt  at  a  loss  to 
know  what  to  think  of  it,  and  hazarded  the  opinion  that 
it  was  only  a  wolf  or  hyena,  and  no  lion  at  alL  On  my 
saying  this  to  old  Mebalwe,  he  demanded  if  I  had  ever 
heard  a  wolf  make  such  a  noise  as  that  growl  1  '^  That  did 
not  come  from  a  wolfs  throat/'  said  this  old  native  traveller. 
**  But  did  you  ever  hear  of  a  lion  kept  at  bay  by  a  dog,  while 
men  are  gathering  wood  and  making  fires,  and  collecting 


352  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

their  cattle  V*  I  replied.     Mebalwe  admitted  that  this  was 
something  new  to  him,  but  stuck  to  his  firm  belief  that  it 
was  a  lion.     The  conduct  of  the  oxen  did  not  throw  much 
light  on  the  question,  for  when  the  dog  and  his  invisible 
opponent  rushed  to  the  windward,  although  they  raised 
their  ears  and  looked  excited,  they  were  quieted  by  the 
whistling  of  the  men  and  the  sight  of  the  fires  all  round 
them.     About  an  hour  or  two  before  dawn,  the  barking 
ceased,  the  oxen  lay  down,  and  our  danger  was  evidentfy 
at  an   end.     As  soon   as  Mebalwe  could  see  a  spoor,  he 
examined  those  round  the  encampment,  and  especiaDy  in  the 
sand  of  the  river  near  my  waggon,  where  they  were  plainlj 
visible.     There  was  no  longer  any  doubt :  it  was  a  large 
lion  which  had  been  kept  at  bay  by  one  dog  in  a  pitch-daik 
night.     We  had  now  the  choice  of  spending  the  Sunday  in 
building  a  cattle-pen,  and  preparing  ourselves  for  another 
night's  attack,  or  of  proceeding  on  our  journey  to  the  village 
of  Monyame,  which  was  within  a  short  distance  of  our 
camp.     We  chose  the  latter  course,  as  involving  less  kbour, 
with  the  certainty  of  repose  for  ourselves  and  our  cattle, 
and  for  Nero  our  faithful  defender.     A  few  days  after  Nero 
fell  sick,  and  could  not  cross  a  deep  rapid  river  throogh 
which  the  waggons  had  gone.     I  went  back  for  him  my- 
self, carried  him  over  in  my  arms,  and  prepared  a  place  for 
him  in  the  second  waggon.     In  a  few  days,  however,  he 
died,  much  to  my  own  and  my  children's  regret    We  dog 
a  grave  for  him  by  the  roadside,  and  raised  a  heap  of  stones 
over  it.     I  am  sure  any  boy  who  reads  about  Nero's  exploits 
will  agree  that  he  deserved  this  honour,  for  he  was  no 
common  dog. 

We  reached  Shoshong  in  the  end  of  February.  Khame 
and  Khamane,  and  other  attendants  at  church  and  school, 
rode  out  to  meet  us,  and  expressed  their  joy  at  our  r^um. 

A  year  after  his  discovery  of  gold  at  the  Tatie  river,  Mr, 


A  MILITARY  TRIBE  AND  CHRISTIANITY.  353 

Mauch  also  ascertained  that  the  same  precious  metal  was 
to  be  found  ove?  an  extensive  tract  of  country  some  four 
days'  journey  to  the  north-east  of  Inyate,  in  a  country  now 
in  the  possession  of  Moselekatse,  its  former  owners,  the 
Mashona  having  been  killed  by  him,  or  obliged  to  flee. 
This  gold  was  some  years  ago  collected  by  half-caste  Portu- 
guese traders  from  the  east  coast.  These  men  visited 
Moselekatse  once,  but  as  their  views  did  not  seem  to  accord 
with  those  of  the  Zulu  chief,  the  visit  was  not  repeated. 
As  soon  as  the  discovery  of  gold  was  announced  in  the 
south,  an  ambassador  from  the  Transvaal  government  visited 
Moselekatse  to  obtain  authority  over  the  gold  field  in  be- 
half of  the  Transvaal  government.  But  the  old  chief  would 
not  yield.  "  Your  people  may  come  in  and  take  away  this 
stone  (quartz)  as  they  take  away  ivory  in  their  waggons. 
They  may  load  up  as  much  as  they  please  of  it,  but  on  no 
account  are  they  to  bring  with  them  a  Dutch  woman,  a 
cow,  a  ewe,  or  a  she-goat,  because  the  permission  is  to  carry 
away  stones,  not  to  build  houses  and  towns  in  my  country." 
This  gold-yielding  region  is  still  unexplored. 

Since  the  period  of  my  visit  in  1864,  the  missionaries  have 
been  pursuing  their  quiet  labours  among  the  Matebele — ^their 
influence  increasing,  but  without  any  open  adherents  to 
their  doctrines.  The  death  of  Moselekatse,  which  took  place 
in  1868,  was  felt  to  be  a  crisis  in  the  history  of  the  tribe 
and  the  mission ;  but  in  all  the  discussions  and  difficulties 
with  reference  to  his  successor,  the  influence  and  presence 
of  the  missionaries  have  been  recognised  with  thankfulness 
by  all  parties.  According  to  Zulu  custom,  Moselekatse 
sent  away  in  a  secret  manner  his  son,  called  Kuruman, 
whom  he  declared  to  one  or  two  confidential  head  men  to 
be  his  successor.  The  young  heir  was  sent  to  a  neighbour- 
ing chief,  who  was  to  have  the  care  of  bringing  him  up, 

and  the  responsibility  of  seeing  that  he  "  got  his  own  "  on 

z 


854  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

the  death  of  his  father.     But  Moselekatse  lived  twenty 
years  after  this  private  arrangement.    At  his  death,  Um- 
bate,  the  only  surviving  councillor,  started  a  party  of  men 
to  bring  home  the  young  chief.     But  Euruman  could  not 
be  found.     It  was  at  one  time  rumoured  that  he  had  made 
his  appearance  in  the  Matebele  country,  and  Mangwane  and 
other  sons  of  Moselekatse  fled  for  fear  of  him.     They  had 
good  reason  to  flee ;  for  one  of  the  first  acts  of  a  young 
Zulu  chief  is  to  put  to  death  all  possible  claimants  to  the 
chieftainship,  and  all  councillors  of  his  predecessor,  who 
might  continually  annoy  him  by  saying  that  his  wisdom  and 
prowess  did  not  equal  those  of  his  father.     But  Euruman 
has  never  been  found.     There  is  indeed  a  romantic  stoiy 
told  of  a  Zulu  called  Elanda,  at  present  living  in  Natal,  who 
claims  to  be,  if  not  Euruman,  at  least  ason  of  Moselekatse. 
This  person  has  been  for  some  time  in  the  employment  of 
Mr.  Shepstone,  the  respected  Agent  for  Native  Afibirs  in 
NataL    The  story  goes  that,  unlike  the  other  serrants, 
Eanda  declined  to  receive  the  usual  wages  from  his  master, 
with  the  explanation  that  he  was  a  great  man  in  his  own 
country,  and  did  not  wish  to  receive  pay.     It  was  not  be- 
neath his  dignity,  however,  to  beg,  so  when  he  wanted  a 
blanket  or  other  article  of  clothing,  he  went  to  his  master 
and  begged  them.     In  this  way  he  no  doubt  took  care  to 
keep  his  account  balanced  on  the  right  side.    When  die 
news  of  Moselekatse's  death  reached  Natal,  E[anda  declared 
himself  to  be  the  person  the  Matebele  were  looking  for. 
But  Umbate  did  not  share  this  opinion.     The  old  coxat 
cillor  gave  his  verdict  that  this  was  another  son,  and  that 
Euruman  was  dead.    Lobingole,  the  next  in  rank,  m 
accordingly  appointed  by  Umbate  and  a  number  of  the 
head  men  as  successor  to  Moselekatse.    The  laige  town  of 
Sokindaba,  however,  and  others,  professed  to  believe  that 
Eanda  was  no  pretender,  but  the  true  heir  to  the  chieftain- 


A.  HnJTAItT  TBEBE  AlID  CHRISTUNITT.  366 

ship.  A  battle  was  recently  fought,  in  which,  after  con- 
Bidetable  bloodshed,  Lobingole  was  victor,  so  that  his  claims 
are  no  longer  likely  to  be  qnestioned.  The  wounded  of 
both  sides  on  this  occasion  hastened  to  the  missionaries  at 
Inyate  for  protection  and  for  medical  aaaiBtance.  The  mis- 
sionaries also  visited  the  field  of  battle,  to  assist  those  who 
were  left  there.  At  Inyate  the  wounded  did  not  all  know 
which  aide  had  gained  the  victory ;  they  saw  they  were 
sitting  down  with  adversaries j  but  so  far,  "old  things 
had  passed  away."  They  were  content  thus  to  mingle 
tc^ether  at  the  mission  station ;  and  the  chief  cheerfnUy 
granted  the  petition  of  the  missionaries  that  none  of  his 
wounded  enemies  should  be  put  to  death. 

It  will  be  a  blessing  to  themselves  and  the  whole  country 
when  the  military  organization  of  the  Matebele  is  at  an 
end.  But  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  breaking  up  of  the 
old  system  will  be  acoompUsbed  without  the  dispersion 
of  the  heterogeneous  elements  of  the  tribe,  and  without 
the  march  of  some  of  its  component  parts  to  the  northward 
to  carry  devastation  beyond  the  Zambese. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

A  CHAPTER  OF  BAMANGWATO  HISTORY. 

After  my  return  from  Matebele-land  in  Febniary  1864, 
I  resumed  my  labours  as  a  missionary  at  Sboshong. 
During  our  absence  our  dear  friends  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Price 
had  been  earnestly  and  assiduously  canying  on  the  work 
of  instruction.  It  was  anucably  arranged  that^  in  accoid- 
ance  with  the  expressed  wishes  of  the  chief  and  people, 
the  station  should  be  occupied  by  the  London  Missionary 
Society.  The  German  missionaries  carried  on  their  work 
in  districts  within  the  Transvaal  Bepublic,  and  on  its 
border. 

Without  the  knowledge  of  letters,  the  Bamangwato  are 
not  able  to  recall  much  of  the  past  histoiy  of  their  ancestors. 
They  have  preserved  the  names  of  seven  chiefs,  but  be- 
yond that  they  cannot  go.  The  precedence  as  to  rank 
among  the  tribes  in  North  Bechuana-land  is  taken  by  the 
Bahurutse.  The  first-fruits  of  a  new  harvest  must  be  first 
partaken  of  by  Moilwe,  the  present  chief  of  that  tribe. 
For  another  chief  to  "loma,"  without  waiting  to  hear 
that  his  superior  had  done  so,  would  be  a  public  insult  and 
a  cause  of  war.  But  in  recent  times  such  transgressions 
have  been  numerous,  for  the  Bahurutse  are  not  now  a 
powerful  tribe.  The  Bangwaketse,  the  Bakwena,  and  the 
Bamangwato  were  originally  one  people.  .  Tradition  retains 
a  glimmering  of  the  circumstances  of  their  separation. 
The  Bakwena  included  the  Bamangwato  when  they  8^»- 


A  CHAPTEK  OF  BAMANGWATO  HISTORY.  357 

rated  from  the  Bangwaketse ;  but  afterwards  a  subdivision 
took  place,  the  Bamangwato  being  the  younger  or  minor 
party.  We  have  already  seen  that  afterwards  the  Baman- 
gwato again  divided,  the  minor  party  being  now  the  Bato- 
wana,.at  present  residing  at  Lake  NgamL 

The  division  of  the  Bamangwato  took  place  in  the  time 
of  Matipi,  the  great-grandfather  of  the  present  chief. 
Matipi  loved  Towane,  the  younger  son,  and  disliked 
Khame,  the  elder.  Before  the  death  of  their  father  the 
sons  quarrelled,  and  Towane,  aided  by  the  influence  of  his 
father,  over  whom  he  began  to  exercise  control,  secured  the 
suffrages  of  nearly  half  the  tribe,  and  the  property  belonging 
by  right  to  the  chief.  Accompanied  by  his  father  and 
their  adherents,  Towane  separated  from  his  brother,  and 
proceeding  into  the  region  of  the  Botletle  river,  eventually 
settled  at  Lake  NgamL  Ungrateful  for  the  kindness 
lavished  upon  him  by  his  father,  Towane  was  soon  impatient 
of  his  presence  in  the  town;  and  having  now  secured  to 
himself  the  support  of  all  the  people,  heaped  indignities 
upon  the  parent  through  whose  partiality  he  had  risen  to 
power.  Turning  with  a  bitter  heart  from  the  home  of  this 
unnatural  child,  the  aged  chief  was  fain  to  tiy  the  affection 
of  Khame,  whom  he  had  wronged  and  robbed  of  part  of 
his  birthright.  He  approached  the  town  of  the  Bamang- 
wato, then  standing  at  a  different  place  in  the  same  range 
of  mountains,  and  sent  messengers  to  beseech  the  forgive- 
ness of  his  son. 

The  answer  was  a  stem  one  :  "  Say  to  Matipi  that  he 
has  no  son  called  Khame;  his  only  son  is  Towane.  It 
would  not  be  meet  that  Matipi  should  reside  in  the  town 
of  Khame,  the  despised  vassal  But  if  the  chief  Matipi 
chooses  to  reside  in  his  own  country,  let  him  select  a  foun- 
tain and  build." 

The  grey-headed  sire  was  now  filled  with   grief  and 


358  NOBTH  OF  THE  OSAKGE  RIVER. 

remorse.  He  had  destroyed  the  ^lehae,"  the  home  of  the 
Bamangwato— few  of  whom  remained  with  himself  now. 
The  son  whom  he  had  injured  was  more  merciful  than  the 
one  he  had  f&youred,  but  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  now 
regarded  him  with  filial  affection.  Without  children — 
without  people— without  a  lehae  or  home— the  heart  of  the 
old  man  fedled  him,  and  he  hanged  himself  to  a  tree  in  one 
of  the  deep  ravines  among  the  Bamangwato  mountains. 
He  was  buried  with  the  honours  of  a  chie^  and  his  grave 
is  visited  by  the  Bamangwato  for  the  purpose  of  sacrifice 
and  prayer  to  this  day. 

Ehari  is  the  chief  whose  name  is  most  cherished  among 
the  Bamangwato.    Brave  in  the  fields  wise  in  the  council, 
kind  to  his  vassals,  Rhari  was  all  that  Bechuanas  desire 
their  chief  to  be.  Under  his  sway  the  Bamangwato  acquired 
great  influence.     The  Makalaka  sent  presents  or  tribute  of 
hoes  from  distant  viUages;  even  some  outlying  towns  rf 
the  Mashona,  whose  country  the  Matebele  now  inhabit, 
were  glad  partially  to  own  the  sway  of  this  chief    But 
the  lust  of  conquest  brings  ever  its  own  punishment, 
although  sometimes  it  may  come  speedily,  and  at  others  be 
long  deferred.     Not  content  with  his  ample  possessions, 
Ehari  had  gone  against  an  unsubdued  town  of  theMashona 
with  the  strength  and  flower  of  his  tribe.     The  Mashona 
had  noticed  in  previous  engagements  the  tactics  of  the 
Bamangwato,  and  now  resolved  to  counteract  them.    Th^ 
pressed  forward  their  yoimg  regiments  to  meet  the  soldien 
of  the  Bamangwato,  sending  round  their  best  men  by  a 
concealed  route,  so  as  to  attack  the  Bamangwato  reserve, 
which  was  headed  by  Ehari  in  person.     The  main  body 
of  the  Mashona,  as  on  other  occasions,  fled  before  the 
Bamangwato,  who,   thrown  completely  off  their  gnaid, 
chased  their  retreating  enemies  to  some  distance.    Hie 
noise  and  tumult  of  war  in  their  rear  was  the  first  iudica- 


A  CHAPTEB  OF  BAMANGWATO  mSTORY.  359 

lion  to  them  of  the  danger  into  which  they  had  fiillen. 
Those  whom  they  were  pursuing  all  at  once  turned  round 
and  fell  on  their  pursuers.  Ehari  was  surprised  by  the 
covert  attack  on  his  reserve  by  the  second  division  of  the 
Mashona  army.  The  chief  and  his  head  men  fell  together. 
Few  indeed  of  the  army  returned ;  and  the  Bamangwato 
never  again  attacked  the  Mashona.  Indeed,  the  tribe  may 
be  said  at  this  time  to  have  been  nearly  destroyed. 

While  the  Bamangwato  were  in  this  disorganized  state, 
their  country  was  traversed  by  Sebetuane  at  the  head  of 
the  Makololo,  and  by  Moselekatse  at  the  head  of  the  Mate- 
bele.  Sekhome,  the  eldest  son  of  Khari,  was  for  a  short 
time  a  prisoner  of  the  Makololo,  in  the  district  of  the 
Mababe.  But  gradually  the  scattered  people  re-assembled. 
The  eneigy  and  wisdom  of  Ehari  seemed  to  animate  the 
conduct  of  Sekhome,  who  managed  to  escape  from  his 
captors.  A  fatal  obstacle,  however,  to  his  sway  was  that 
his  mother  was  not  the  first  wife  of  Ehari  as  to  rank. 
One  brother  was  put  to  death  by  the  Bamangwato  head 
men,  with  Sekhome's  connivance,  and  Macheng,  the  only 
remaining  rival,  and  who  was  then  a  child,  was  saved  by 
the  flight  of  his  mother  to  the  Bakwena. 

A  tribe  from  Basuto-land  endeavoured  at  this  time  to 
follow  the  Makololo  into  the  interior ;  but  the  Bamang- 
wato fell  upon  them  in  a  pass  which  has  been  pointed  out 
to  me,  and  completely  destroyed  them.  The  name  of  the 
.tribe  is  now  almost  forgotten. 

For  some  years  after  his  settlement  in  the  present 
Matebele  country,  Moselekatse  sent  his  warriors  to  bring 
in  the  cattle  which  he  had  left  among  the  tribes  he  had 
conquered  in  Bechuana-land  Ilveiy  year  these  hordes 
passed  through  the  Bamangwato  country,  lifting  cattle, 
destroying  the  gardens  and  driving  the  men  and  women 
to  seek  a  reftige  in  the  numerous  caves  on  the  top  of  the 


360  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

mountains.  But  at  length  the  courage  of  despair  was 
given  to  them.  A  young  man,  whose  name  I  have  forgot- 
ten, stood  up  and  addressed  his  countrymen,  as  from  the 
mouths  of  their  caves  they  beheld  the  Matebele  driving 
away  their  cattle  on  the  plain  below,  "  Bamangwato !  let 
us  die  to-day.  Have  we  not  been  dying  the  death  of 
women  for  years  1  To-day  let  us  die  as  men.  Have  we 
not  seen  our  mothers  killed  before  our  eyes;  our  wives 
and  sisters  and  daughters  led  away  by  our  enemies  t 
Have  we  not  seen  our  own  infants  thrown  into  the  air, 
and  caught  on  the  point  of  a  Matebele  spear  1  Have  we 
not  seen  the  same  spear  which  had  transfixed  the  old  man, 
thrust  also  at  once  through  the  infant  and  the  mother  on 
whose  breast  it  hung  1  This  is  worse  than  death !  There- 
fore let  us  go  and  fight  with  these  destroyers  of  our  people 
and  die  like  men." 

The  Bamangwato  listened  to  this  heroic  counsel,  placed 
themselves  under  the  speaker  as  a  leader,  and  engaged  the 
Matebele  on  the  plain.  After  a  severe  struggle  they  re- 
took their  cattle,  and  inflicted  severe  punishment  on  their 
enemies.  The  worsted  Matebele  retired,  and  waited  for 
the  arrival  of  the  other  divisions  of  their  army,  which  had 
gone  to  the  Bangwaketse  and  Bakwena  countries.  Bat 
even  after  they  were  united,  they  did  not  again  attack  the 
Bamangwato,  but  passed  their  stronghold  in  two  companiea, 
one  going  through  the  pass  of  Monakalongwe,  the  other 
taking  what  is  now  the  waggon-road  to  the  Matebele, 
which  passes  Bonnapitse. 

Some  time  after  tliis,  a  party  of  forty  men  was  sent  by 
Moselekatse  to  the  town  of  the  Bamangwato  to  ^kh^asa" 
or  raise  tribute  for  their  master.  The  "tribute"  of 
Sekhome  was  a  heathenish  as  well  as  a  daring  one.  He 
put  the  forty  men  to  death.  His  people  as  well  as  him- 
self were  thus  pledged  to  one  another  and  to  independence 


A  CHAPTER  OF  BAMANGWATO  HISTORY.  361 

or  death.  From  this  time  till  1863,  when  the  raid  took 
place  which  has  been  already  described,  there  was  no  in- 
tercourse between  the  Matebele  and  the  Bamangwato ;  the 
former  neither  seeking  more  tribute  nor  revenge  for  the 
death  of  the  former  tax-gatherers.  Other  smaller  tribes 
now  sought  the  protection  of  Sekhome.  The  Mapaleng, 
the  Batalowta,  the  Maownatlala,  the  Bakhurutse,  the  Ma- 
kalaka,  and  others,  sought  refuge  from  the  Matebele  with 
Sekhome  in  the  hills  of  the  Bamangwato. 

The  history  of  Macheng  wiU  further  illustrate  the  social 
customs  of  the  Bamangwato.  After  his  mother  fled  to  the 
Bakwena,  Macheng  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Matebele. 
He  was  then  liberated  by  his  friends ;  but  falling  into 
their  hands  a  second  time,  he  was  carried  away  captive 
into  the  present  Matebele  country,  and  trained  as  a  lechaga 
or  common  soldier.  As  the  guardian  from  whom  he  had 
been  taken  captive,  Sechele,  the  chief  of  the  Bakwena,  had 
some  natural  regret  at  the  loss  of  his  relative.  The  desire 
to  free  him  was  increased  also  by  another  kind  of  motive. 
The  Bakwena  taking  the  precedence  of  the  Bamangwato 
as  to  rank,  it  has  been  the  life-long  endeavour  of  Sechele 
to  obtain  such  influence  in  the  town  of  the  Bamangwato  as 
would  enable  him  to  secure  some  of  the  treasures  of  ivory 
and  ostrich-feathers  and  furs  which  are  brought  &om  its 
extensive  hunting-grounds,  extending  northward  to  the 
Zambese.  Sechele,  however,  found  Sekhome  a  most  un- 
manageable person.  Having  achieved  the  independence  of 
his  people,  Sekhome  refused  to  own  the  supremacy  of 
Sechele  in  any  tangible  way.  Strifes  were  fomented  in 
the  Bamangwato  town,  but  Sekhome  was  too  vigilant,  his 
power  too  great.  So  Sechele,  with  great  grief  for  the 
little  boy  that  had  been  stolen  from  his  town  twenty  years 
before,  and  with  greater  desire  to  liberate  one  who, 
according  to  Bechuana  customs,  was  the  rightful  chief  of 


362  NORTH  OF  THE  OBANGE  BIVEB. 

the  Bamangwato,  once  and  again  requested  Mr.  Moffiit  to 
plead  with  Moselekatse  for  the  liberation  of  Mach^ig.  At 
length  Mr.  Mofiat's  influence  prevailed  with  the  Matebele 
despot.  Macheng  was  set  firee,  and  accompanied  Mr. 
Mofiat  into  Bechuana-land.  He  was  received  with  m^ 
picion  by  Sekhome,  but  with  an  ovation  bj  Sechelei  who 
called  the  neighbouring  chiefs  to  a  grand  assembly,  where 
Macheng  was  publicly  introduced  to  those  who  were  to 
be  his  neighbours  in  Bechuana-land.  In  his  speech  on 
the  occasion,  Sechele  likened  the  appearance  of  Macheng 
among  them  to  the  resurrection  from  the  dead.  But 
although  the  assembled  chiefe  took  Sechele's  speedies  for 
what  they  were  worth,  all  were  agreed  that  the  missiimaiy 
had  performed  a  disinterested  and  worthy  action.  They  said 
it  was  becoming  that  such  men  should  go  among  the  tribes, 
for  they  did  not  go  to  betray  but  to  deliver  and  to  blesa. 

Tshukuru,  the  next  in  rank  in  the  Bamangwato  town  to 
Sekhome,  had  been  secretly  in  league  with  Sechele  in  tUs 
intrigue  against  Sekhome.  He  now  appeared  at  the  head 
of  a  party  of  Bamangwato,  to  welcome  and  receive  thdr 
chief  from  the  hand  of  Sechele.  Macheng  was  estaUisbed 
as  chief  of  the  Bamangwato,  and  Sechele  received  a  veiy 
handsome  present  in  ivory  and  other  valuables.  Sekhome 
was  now  afraid  that  Macheng,  in  self-preservation,  would 
put  him  to  death ;  for  the  latter  could  not  but  feel  that  he 
was  a  stranger  in  his  own  town,  whereas  Sekhome  knew 
every  man  in  it.  Sekhome  fled,  therefore,  to  Sechele,  who 
was  delighted  to  afford  him  an  asylum  in  his  town.  His 
presence  there  gave  Sechele  so  much  additional  power  and 
influence  in  all  Bamangwato  affairs.  The  training  which 
Macheng  had  received  as  a  lechaga  did  not  veiy  wdl 
qualify  him  to  fill  the  office  of  a  Bechuana  chief.  It  is 
true  he  had  received  valuable  instruction  from  Mr.  Moffat, 
and  some  capital  advice  from  Moselekatse  before  lus  de- 


A  CHAPTER  OF  BAMANGWATO  HISTORY.  363 

partore.  But  Moselekatse  had  been  teaching  him  after  a 
very  different  fashion  all  his  life  as  a  soldier,  and  the 
lesson  of  years  had  more  effect  than  a  few  kindly  words 
spoken  at  parting.  So  Macheng  began  to  introduce  some 
of  the  Matebele  customs  into  the  Bechuana  town.  He 
ignored  the  head  men.  He  struck  a  blow  at  all  buying  or 
selling,  except  through  him  and  with  his  consent.  He 
slaughtered  oxen  which  were  not  his  own  property  according 
to  Bechuana  customs ;  and  one  of  the  head  men  who  had 
b^un  to  complain  was  found  dead  in  the  town  one  morn- 
ing. Every  one  now  grieved  that  Macheng  had  ever 
arrived.  "  They  were  not  Matebele ;  they  were  Baman- 
gwato,  and  they  did  not  like  such  practices."  Tshukuru 
was  now  foremost  in  negotiating  the  return  of  Sekhome. 
Sechele  was  ready  to  oblige  them  again.  Khosilintsi,  his 
brother,  was  sent  with  an  armed  force  to  reinstate  Sekhome. 
On  their  appearance  Macheng  fled  with  a  few  adherents ; 
Khosilintsi  and  Sekhome  took  possession  of  the  town, 
and  the  armed  force  of  Bakwena  made  a  raid  upon  the 
Bamangwato  cattle-posts,  taking  home  to  Sechele  a  rich 
reward  for  his  services.  Chief-making  had  thus  become  a 
favourite  pastime  with  Sechele;  so  that  when  Macheng, 
after  having  in  vain  sought  assistance  from  Moselekatse, 
made  overtures  to  the  chief  of  the  Bakwena  to  be  permitted 
to  reside  in  his  town,  this  accommodating  man  was  as 
usual  very  gracious,  and  Macheng  lived  for  a  longer  period 
than  Sekhome  had  done  under  Sechele's  protection.  When 
I  first  saw  Sechele  in  1859  his  people  had  just  returned 
firom  placing  Sekhome  as  chief  at  Shoshong^  and  the 
timidity  of  the  Bakalahari  and  Bushmen  whom  we  met  in 
the  interior  was  owing  to  this  disturbance.  When  I  passed 
Sechele  in  1862,  Macheng,  against  whom  he  fought  in  1859, 
was  a  refugee  in  his  town,  and  plots  were  being  concocted 
for  the  displacing  of  Sekhome.     Both  Sechele  and  Macheng 


364  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

gravely  informed  me  that  they  were  going  to  fight,  and 
that  they  would  not  answer  for  my  safety  if  I  went  in. 
My  answer  was  that  if  he  did  not  stop  me  forcibly  I  should 
go  where  I  was  sent;  and  I  ventured  to  express  the 
opinion  that  Sechele  might  give  the  Bamangwato  a  little 
rest,  either  with  the  one  chief  or  the  other.  Such  had 
been  the  history  of  the  Bamangwato  and  of  their  chiefe 
when  I  appeared  at  Shoshong  in  1862. 

One  thing  remains  unexplained.  Macheng  is  a  much 
younger  man  than  Sekhome.  But  according  to  Bechuana 
custom  this  does  not  affect  his  title,  as  his  mother  was  the 
recognised  "  head  wife."  As  a  matter  of  fact,  Macheng  was 
not  bom  till  some  years  after  the  death  of  Ehan,  his  re- 
puted and  'Megal"  father.  Neither  does  this  affect  Iub 
title  to  be  chief.  Khari  having  elevated  the  mother  of 
Macheng  to  the  dignity  of  head  wife,  and  having  paid  her 
price  in  cattle,  she  and  her  offspring  are  to  be  reckoned  to 
Elhari,  although  the  children  should  be  bom  a  dozen  years 
after  his  deatL  It  is  not  etiquette  ever  to  refer  to  the 
man  who  thus  '^  raises  up  seed  "  to  another,  in  connection 
with  such  children.  They  are  not  his  children.  Thej 
are  the  children  of  him  who  is  dead.  But  when  Sekhome 
was  vexed,  he  sometimes  sarcastically  declared  that  his 
rival  was  the  "child  of  cattle,"  meaning  that  the  price 
paid  for  Macheng's  mother  at  her  marriage  with  Khari  was 
her  son's  only  title  to  the  chieftainship.  There  is  never 
any  question,  however,  among  the  natives  as  to  the  validity 
of  this  title.  Even  the  most  ardent  friends  of  Sekhome 
admit  that  according  to  their  customs  Macheng  is  the 
rightful  chief. 

The  Bamangwato  mountains  have  afforded  shelter  to 
restless  and  roving  tribes  for  many  centuries.  The  eaiKest 
tradition  points  to  Makalaka  as  their  occupants.  They 
were  dispossessed  by  the  Bakaa,  who  in  turn  gave  way  to 


A  CHAPTER  OF  BAMANGWATO  HISTORY.  365 

the  Bamangwato.  But  the  mountains  themselves  speak  of 
earlier  inhabitants.  On  their  summits  I  have  noticed  the 
small  stone  enclosures  of  ancient  dwellings.  Situated  at  a 
distance  from  fountain  and  garden,  and  in  the  most  inac- 
cessible heights,  these  dilapidated  fences  teach  us  at  least 
that  their  builders  lived  the  insecure  and  distrustful  life 
of  all  rude  and  warlike  clans.  I  never  heard  Bechuanas 
speak  with  affection  of  the  open  country.  Perhaps  the 
reason  was  that  good  garden  ground,  and  grazing  and 
hunting  stations,  could  be  readily  obtained.  But  I  have 
often  heard  them  speak  fondly  of  the  mountains  which 
they  inhabit,  and  which  form  their  refuge  in  times  of  war. 
The  Kaffirs  also  spoke  with  the  same  affection  of  the 
Amatola  mountains,  not  on  account  of  their  beauty,  but 
because  when  guarded  they  were  almost  inaccessible  to  an 
enemy.  The  Scotch,  the  Swiss,  and  the  Welsh  speak  and 
write  fondly  of  the  "  land  of  the  mountain  and  the  flood  " 
which  gave  them  birth.  This  strong  sentiment  which 
animates  all  European  mountaineers  is  perhaps  an  inherit- 
ance from  their  rude  forefathers,  who,  like  some  Africans  in 
our  own  time,  had  reason  to  be  gratefully  attached  to  the 
wild  and  inaccessible  retreats  which  aided  them  to  secure 
and  to  retain  their  independence. 

Shoshong,  the  town  of  the  Bamangwato,  contains  a  popu- 
lation of  some  30,000.  It  is  situated  at  the  foot  of  a 
mountain  range  of  primary  rock  stretching  from  east  to 
west  for  more  than  a  dozen  miles.  About  three  miles  to 
the  south  of  this  range  there  is  another  basaltic  mountain 
called  Marutlwe,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  which  both 
sandstone  and  limestone  are  to  be  found.  The  ground 
lying  between  the  hills  is  occupied  by  the  gardens  of  the 
Bamangwato.  The  main  town  spreads  along  the  foot  of 
the  moimtain,  and  some  distance  along  the  gorge  in  the 
mountain  range,  where  the  stream  flows  which  supplies 


366  KOBTH  OF  THE  0BAK6E  BIVEB. 

the  town  with  water.  Theie  are  also  five  divisions  of  the 
town  in  a  beautifully  sheltered  position  among  the  moon- 
tains.  Again,  there  are  small  towns  along  the  range  to 
the  west  to  the  distance  of  some  six  miles,  all  being  nnd^ 
one  chief,  whose  decision  in  every  case  is  final.  The  most 
distant  villages  are  those  of  Makalaka  refugees,  who  fled 
recently  from  the  enormities  of  the  Matebele  sway.  They 
chose  to  remain  at  a  distance  from  the  large  town  for  the 
sake  of  their  gardens,  for  it  takes  some  of  the  Bamangwato 
who  reside  in  the  laige  town  more  than  an  hour  to  reach 
their  cultivated  fields. 

A  little  more  than  a  day's  journey  to  the  north-east  of 
Shoshong,  and  along  a  range  of  mountains  running  north 
and  south,  which  is  visible  to  the  traveller  on  his  way  to 
the  Matebele  country,  there  resides  a  subject  tribe  called 
the  Machwapong.  The  mountains  among  which  tiiey 
reside  abound  with  iron,  and  the  Machwapong  are  famous 
among  the  tribes  for  their  skill  in  smelting  ore,  and  making 
the  iron  into  hoes,  axes,  adzes,  etc  They  had  found  out 
that  a  certain  tree  yields  charcoal,  which  gives  great  beat^ 
with  hardly  any  ashes.  They  therefore  supply  all  ihear 
furnaces  with  this  charcoal.  Again,  they  observed  that  the 
lumps  of  smelted  iron  which  remained  longest  mixed  up 
with  the  charcoal  were  the  hardest,  and  made  the  best  azfi& 
They  thus  may  be  said  to  have  had  the  knowledge  of  mak- 
ing steel  They  render  a  certain  tribute  to  the  Bamangwato^ 
but  are  permitted  to  enjoy,  after  a  somewhat  precarious 
fashion,  their  own  flocks  and  herds,  and  other  personal 
property.  They  are  also  of  service  to  the  Bamangwato  in 
announcing  when  a  troop  of  elephants  leaves  the  habitat 
of  the  tsetse,  and  passes  into  the  open  coimtiy.  A  party 
of  men  is  at  once  despatched  by  the  chief  Sleeping  half- 
way, they  reach  the  elephants  the  next  day. 

About  three  days'  journey  to  the  east  of  Shoshong,  and 


A  CHAPTEB  OF  BAMANGWATO  HISTORY.  367 

near  the  Limpopo  river,  here  called  the  Ouri,  there  resides 
a  small  tribe  of  Bechuanas  called  Basilika.     These  people 
were  once  incorporated  with  the  Bamangwato,  but  are  now 
independent.     They  reside  in  a  very  romantic  locality,  well 
wooded  and  well  watered.     Their  town  is  built  on  the 
crest  of  a  high  rock,  and  within  the  habitat  of  the  tsetse. 
They  have  chosen  this  position  for  defence  against  their 
enemies.     Their  cattle  they  hide  in  belts  of  country  known 
to  them  to  be  free  from  the  destructive  fly.     Their  enemies, 
however,  even  if  they  found  the  cattle,  could  not  hope  to 
drive  them  out  without  entering  some  place  infested  by 
the  fly,  in  which  case  their  prize  would  be  worth  nothing, 
as  they  would  all  die.     When  traders  visit  the  Basilika, 
they  have  to  halt  a  day's  journey  from  the  town,  and  either 
remove  the  goods  to  the  town  by  bearers,  or  wait  till  the 
Basilika  come  to  the  waggons  to  trade.      The  latter  is 
decidedly  the  safer  procedure,  as  in  the  other  case,  the  un- 
fortunate stranger  with  only  a  man  or  two  of  his  own,  is 
not  able  to  remove  his  own  property  back  again  to  the 
waggons,  and  has  therefore  to  seU  his  stock  for  prices  which 
are  much  m^e  profitable  to  those  sharp-witted  and  im- 
scmpulous  denizens  of  the  precipitous  rock,  than  to  the 
trader,  who  has  a  long  bill  to  pay  at  the  store  at  which  he 
has  filled  his  waggon.    The  district  between  Shoshong  and 
Silika  is  well  watered,  and  suitable  for  agriculture ;  but  the 
greater  part  of  it  is  at  present  infested  with  tsetse.     It  is 
believed  that  when  the  game  is  shot  down  and  driven  away, 
the  tsetse  will  also  disappear.     The  natives  will  then  find 
in  this  district  a  place  suitable  for  irrigation,  upon  which 
in  a  few  years  they  will  all  be  depending  for  subsistence. 

In  laying  out  aBechuana  town,  the  first  thing  is  to  as- 
certain where  the  chiefs  court-yard  with  the  public  cattle- 
pen  is  to  be  placed.  As  soon  as  this  is  settled  the 
remainder  is  simple.    As,  after  the  tabernacle  was  placed 


368  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

in  the  wilderness,  each  one  of  the  twelve  tribes  knew  on 
which  side  he  had  to  take  up  his  position^  so  in  the  case  of 
a  Bechuana  town ;  as  soon  as  the  chiefs  position  is  ascer- 
tained, one  says,  *'  My  place  is  always  next  the  chief  on  ^ 
side;"  another  adds,  ^And  mine  is  always  next  on  that 
side,"  and  so  on  till  the  whole  town  is  laid  out.  The  chief 
is  umpire  in  all  such  matters,  and  settles  all  disputes  about 
ground,  etc.  When  duly  laid  out,  a  Bechuana  town  is 
called  "  motse  "  (urbs)  or  town,  and  "  lehae  "  or  home.  It 
is  the  mark  of  a  freeman  to  have  a  residence  in  the  town, 
while  the  vassals  are  doomed  always  to  live  in  the  open 
country  (pagvs).  Bushmen  indeed  are  not  allowed  to  enter 
the  precincts  of  the  town  during  the  day.  They  must  wait 
outside  till  the  sun  has  set  before  they  appear  in  the 
"  home  "  of  their  masters. 

In  general,  those  head  men  whose  towns  are  on  the  east 
of  the  chief  have  their  cattle-posts  and  their  hunting- 
stations  towards  the  east  of  the  country;  those  on  the 
west  branch  out  towards  the  west,  and  so  on.  Thus  within 
three  or  four  days'  journey  from  Shoshong,  every  fountain 
or  available  grazing  station  has  some  head  man  who  does 
not  exactly  claim  the  ground  as  his  property,  but  would 
regard  the  appearance  there  of  another  man's  flocks  and 
herds  as  an  intrusion.  The  chief  is  not  subjected  to  such 
stringent  usages ;  for  while  his  vassals  have  their  allotted 
places,  the  chiefs  cattle  in  time  of  drought,  or  for  other 
reason,  may  be  shifted  to  any  part  of  the  grazing  country. 
Then  between  one  cattle-post  and  another  there  is  always  an 
understood  boundary,  except  in  cases  where  they  are  so  wide 
apart  that  the  cattle  do  not  meet  in  grazing.  Sometimes 
the  herdsmen  of  two  or  more  cattle-posts  water  their  flocks 
and  herds  at  the  same  fountain  or  welL  In  this  case  all  have 
equal  rights ;  those  who  are  earliest  at  the  fountain  hare 
the  privilege  of  first  watering  their  chai^ge.     As  the  Be- 


A  CHAPTER  OF  BAMANGWATO  HISTOllY.  369 

chuanas  do  not  water  their  cattle  every  day  in  winter,  an 
arrangement  is  made,  if  the  water  is  scarce,  by  which  two 
cattle-posts  do  not  visit  the  water  on  the  same  day.  There 
are  frequent  quarrels  among  the  herdsmen,  which  are  often 
settled  by  blows. 

Between  one  tribe  and  another  there  are  no  proper 
boundary  lines.     From  the  town  as  a  centre,  there  are 
footpaths  to  most  of  the  hunting  stations.     A  certain 
fountain  is  known  as  the  furthest  hunting  station  on  each 
road.     These  fountains  are  not  equidistant  from  the  town. 
If  we  drew  a  line  from  one  of  these  frontier  hunting- 
stations  to  the  other,  we  should  include  within  this  zigzag 
boundary  all  the  country  of  the  tribe.     To  trace  such  a 
line,  however,  is  an  idea  which  never  occurs  to  the  natives. 
Living  respectively  at  their  furthest  hunting-station,  the 
members  of  neighbouring  tribes  meet  in  time  of  peace, 
when  they  treat  one  another  to  snuff,  and  tell  the  news. 
In  time  of  war,  the  vassals  who  live  at  those  outlying 
villages  are  expected  to  be  on  the  alert  to  convey  to  their 
chief  the  earliest  information  of  any  movement  of  an 
enemy.     Therefore  if  an  army  intends  to  surprise  a  cer- 
tain town,  and   attack  it  while  it  is  quite  unprepared,  a 
necessary  preliminary  is  to  secure  the  vassals  at  every 
hunting-station  on  a  certain  path.     Sometimes  the  enemy 
endeavours  to  pierce  through  the  open  country  between  the 
radiating  paths ;  but  it  is  not  often  that  a  Bechuana  town 
can  be  thus  surprised.     In  case  of  a  protracted  feud  be- 
tween two  tribes,  both  call  in  their  vassals ;  there  is  no 
longer  any  hunting ;  no  longer  any  friendly  intercourse. 
'^  The  wayfaring  man  ceaseth  "  in  such  circumstances,  and 
the  intervening  country  becomes  a  desert,  traversed  only 
by  the  armed  scouts  of  the  adverse  tribes. 

The  idea  of  buying  land  was  unknown  to  the  Bechuanas. 
Neither  the  house  in  town,  nor  the  garden,  nor  the  cattle- 

2  a 


370        NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

post,  nor  the  honting-statioii  was  ever  bought  When  a 
tribe,  driven  by  its  enemies,  or  moved  by  its  own  enter- 
prise, advanced  into  a  new  country,  the  whole  scheme  of 
their  social  life  was  gradually  re-developed  there;  and 
domestic,  agricultural,  pastoral,  and  hunting  pursuits  were 
there  carried  on  as  before.  Every  question  as  to  the  occu- 
pation of  the  territory  was  finally  decided  by  the  chief;  the 
new  settlement  being,  indeed,  as  much  as  possible  a 
counterpart  of  the  old ;  the  divisions  in  the  town  keeping 
up  their  old  inter-tribal  names,  which  of  course  apply  also 
to  the  possessions  in  the  country.  Thus  one  part  of  the 
town  of  Shoshong  (or  rather  a  diyision  of  its  people  living 
together)  is  called  Maloshu.  A  certain  belt  of  garden 
ground  also  goes  by  that  name,  as  well  as  a  cattle-post  and 
hunting  station. 


OoQid  Snoff-boz. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

RELIGION  AND  POLITY  OF  THE  BAMANGWATO. 

The  **  bogosi "  or  chieftainship  is  hereditary  among  the 
Bechuanas.  A  chief  generally  unites  in  his  own  person 
the  offices  of  king,  supreme  judge,  commander-in-chief, 
and  high-priest  or  sorcerer.  Sekhome  exercised  the 
functions  belonging  to  all  these  offices,  and  was  held  by 
his  admirers  to  excel  in  them  alL  Although  a  strong- 
minded  man  will  always  rule  weaker  men  under  any 
sort  of  government,  a  Bechuana  chief  has  often  a  good 
deal  of  canvassing,  "  treating,**  etc.,  to  perform  before  he  can 
carry  his  point.  Every  important  matter  is  supposed  to  be 
decided  before  the  pitsho  or  public  assembly  of  the  free- 
men of  the  town.  But  in  reality  all  **  business  "  is  transacted 
by  the  chief  and  the  head  men  in  secret.  The  chief  knows 
how  &r  he  can  go  in  a  certain  course  before  the  pitsho 
takes  place,  and  so  do  his  opponents.  In  the  public 
assembly  there  is  a  great  deal  of  talking ;  but  the  matter 
in  hand  is  carried  or  lost,  not  by  what  takes  place  there,  so 
much  as  on  account  of  the  previous  secret  wire-pulling. 
The  people  are  called  to  a  public  assembly  by  a  recognised 
functionary  of  the  chief,  who  leaves  the  twig  of  a  certain 
tree  in  the  public  court-yard  of  each  division  of  the  town. 
In  time  of  war  the  public  assembly  is  generally  held  out- 
side the  town,  when  it  is  called  a  letshulo.  The  same 
name  is  given  to  an  assembly  for  hunting  certain  uniniAlq 
employed  in  ndn-making,  or  for  hunting  elephants,  ostriches, 


372  NORTH  OF  THE  OKANGE  RIVER. 

or  lions  at  the  command  and  under  the  leadership  of  the 
chief. 

Lions  have  twice  attacked  live  stock  at  the  town  of 
Shoshong  during  my  residence  there ;  and  once  my  own 
cattle-post  was  attacked  by  two  lions,  and  four  oxen  were 
killed.  A  letshulo  is  ordered  out  on  such  occasions ;  the  lion 
is  surrounded  and  put  to  death.  All  the  Englishmen  on  the 
place,  as  well  as  a  letshulo  of  Bamangwato,  kindly  turned 
out  to  follow  the  lions  which  attacked  my  post.  Only  one 
of  them  was  found.  There  being  such  a  large  party, 
there  was  some  rivalry  as  to  who  should  hit  the  lion  first : 
for  it  is  the  man  who  first  hit«  the  animal  who  is  said  to 
have  killed  it,  although  it  should  need  a  good  many  shots 
afterwards.  On  this  occasion  an  Englishman  and  a  native 
fired  nearly  at  the  same  time,  and  both  bullets  entered  the 
lion's  body. 

In  a  letshulo  after  elephants  many  narrow  escapes  have 
come  to  my  own  knowledge.     Mogomotsi,  the  brother-in- 
law  of  Sekhome,  was  pulled  off  his  horse  by  an  elephant, 
and  thrown  into  the  air.     He  luckily  fell  to  leeward  of  the 
elephant,  into  a  dense  thicket  of  thorns.   He  was  injured  by 
the  fall,  and  bleeding  from  the  thorns,  but  had  sense  enoo^ 
left  to  lie  stilL     The  elephant  sought  him  to  windward, 
going  farther  and  farther  away,  until  at  last  the  man  mns- 
tered  courage  to  creep  out  and  seek  the  rest  of  his  party. 
At  another  letshulo  an  elephant  charged  a  man  who  had  only 
the  native  mantle  on.    When  the  elephant  was  fast  gaining 
on  him  he  unfortunately  fell,  and  fortunately  lost  his  mantle 
in  the  fall.     The  man  instinctively  rolled  to  one  side  on 
falling,  and  the  elephant  coming  up,  tramped  the  mantle 
into  the  earth,  squealing  and  shrieking  with  satis&ction  at 
having  secured  its  enemy.     But  the  letshulo  or  paUic 
hunting  of  ostriches  is  dangerous  for  other  reasons.    The 
Bamangwato  do  not  take  into  account  that  the  gun  and  the 


RELIGION  AND  POLITY.  373 

assegai  are  very  different  weapons,  but  contirue  to  sur- 
round the  ostriches,  until  they  have  them  in  a  compara- 
tively small  circle,  when,  without  any  order  or  any 
hesitation,  each  man  fires  his  rifle  or  his  musket  at  the 
ostrich  next  him.  "Wherever  he  stands  in  the  circle  he  is 
of  course  sure  to  have  a  fellow-townsman  opposite  to  him. 
I  have  known  several  accidents  take  place  on  these  public 
hunts.  I  believe  there  is  generally  less  danger  in  a  Be- 
chuana  war-party  than  in  a  letshulo  which  surrounds 
ostriches  or  antelopes. 

In  assembling  at  one  of  these  public  gatherings,  the  men 
march  under  their  own  head  men ;  and  in  cases  of  dispute 
the  head  men  range  themselves  xmder  the  chiefs  they  pre- 
fer, and  thus  inarch  to  the  council.  The  relative  strength 
of  parties  is  thus  discovered,  and  such  things  as  coups 
(fStat  are  not  unknown  in  the  history  of  the  Bamangwato. 

The  head  men  have  power  over  their  own  towns  and 
over  their  own  vassals  and  property.  No  Bechuana  chief^ 
when  he  wants  to  slaughter  an  ox,  may  summarily  send  for 
it  to  the  cattle-post  of  one  of  his  head  men,  or  otherwise 
invade  his  right  of  property.  In  this  matter  the  chief 
himself  is  distinguished  from  other  head  men  only  by 
having  a  larger  number  of  vassals  and  more  live-stock.  In 
cases  of  dispute,  the  head  man  of  the  locality  where  one  or 
both  litigants  reside  endeavours  to  settle  the  matter ;  but 
his  decision  may  be  carried  before  the  chie^  whose  verdict 
is  final  The  chiefs  court  is  conducted  with  decorum  and 
order.  His  assessors  are  the  head  men  of  the  various  sub- 
divisions of  the  town,  and  all  men  of  distinction  in  it  A 
stranger  of  consideration  sitting  in  the  court-yard  during  a 
trial  would  be  asked  by  the  chief  to  assist  with  his  opinion. 
All  Bechuanas  are  more  or  less  **  accustomed  to  speak  in 
public ; "  but  there  are  generally  in  each  town  a  few  men 
whose  shrewdness  and  power  of  speech,  as  well  as  social 


374  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

position,  render  them  powerful  advocateB  before  such  a 
court.  The  evidences  of  clear-headedness  and  dose  reason- 
ing in  speeches  to  which  I  have  often  listened  are  really  re- 
markable, in  people  whose  only  training  has  been  to  listen 
to  previous  cases  before  their  chief.  But  justice  frequently 
miscarries  when  the  culprit  is  a  person  of  influence.  For 
instance,  a  man  speared  his  wife  in  Shoshong  in  a  fit  of 
rage.  As  he  was  one  of  Sekhome's  adherents,  and  party 
spirit  ran  high  in  the  town  at  the  time,  no  notice  was 
taken  of  the  crime.  When  a  theft  takes  place  it  is  ui- 
nounced  to  the  chief,  who  sends  the  town-crier  round  to 
give  public  notice  that  a  certain  article  has  been  stolen, 
and  is  ''wanted"  by  the  chief,  and  must  be  forthcoming.  It 
is  usually  restored  in  the  darkness  of  night,  and  tlie 
culprit  is  thus  allowed  to  escape  detection.  One  of  my 
men  once  lost  a  pair  of  trousers,  and  having  given  notice 
to  Sekhome,  the  crier  went  round  with  a  strong  proclama- 
tion from  the  chief,  and  next  morning  the  trousers  were 
found  suspended  at  the  entrance  to  my  cattle-pen ! 

There  is  nothing  which  irritates  Europeans  travelling  or 
trading  in  such  a  country  more  than  the  bungling  and 
uncertain  manner  in  which  justice  is  frequently  adminis- 
tered.  Shutting  their  eyes  to  the  past  history  of  their  own 
country,  these  people  seem  to  expect  policemen  with  their 
batons,  detectives,  and  a  bridewell  in  every  Bechuana  town. 
And  when,  with  considerable  trouble,  they  have  proved  the 
guilt  of  some  man  of  influence,  their  impatience  and  dis- 
gust are  unbounded  when  the  criminal  escapes  without  the 
infliction  of  any  punishment     In  rude  countries  punish- 
ment must  be  either  by  fine,  corporal  punishment,  the 
maiming  of  the  body,  or  death.      Imprisonment  is  not 
possible ;  besides,  it  would  not  be  a  severe  punishment. 
In  Potchefstroom  the  government  of  the  Transvaal  Kepnb- 
lic  has  a  prison ;  but  able-bodied  men  usually  found  little 


RELIGION  AND  POLITY.  375 

difficulty  in  escaping  from  it,  until  the  authorities  had 
recourse  to  the  ancient  custom  of  making  the  feet  of 
prisoners  fast  in  the  stocks  at  night.  Among  the  Bamang- 
wato  a  fine  is  the  usual  punishment  for  all  offences.  For 
murder  the  theory  of  the  law  demands  the  death  of  the 
murderer;  its  practice  is  usually  satisfied  with  a  fine.^ 
For  theft  the  theory  is  to  restore  fourfold ;  but  the  practice 
is  to  be  content  if  you  can  get  back  your  own  property. 
When  a  person  becomes  **  by  habit  and  repute  "  a  thief  in 
Bechuana-land,  after  fining  and  beating  have  been  tried, 
maiming  the  body  is  next  resorted  to.  The  fingers  of  the 
culprit  are  forced  into  a  pot  of  boiling  fat,  and  if  the 
offence  is  repeated  the  whole  hand  is  thrust  in.  I  have 
seen  persons  with  their  hands  maimed  in  this  manner.  I 
believe  death  would  be  inflicted  if  theft  were  persisted  in 
after  this  mutilation  had  been  resorted  to. 

As  commander  of  the  able-bodied  men  of  the  tribe,  the 
Bechuana  chief  finds  an  organization  ready  to  his  hand, 
which  he  has  only  to  exercise  and  direct.  The  rite  of 
circumcision  is  administered  throughout  Bechuana-land  to 
boys  between  perhaps  eight  and  fourteen  years  of  age.  It 
is  not  performed  every  year,  but  whensoever  there  is  a 
sufficient  number  of  youths  waiting  for  its  observance. 
No  single  ceremony  has  a  wider  significance ;  it  may  be 
said  to  introduce  the  youth  to  heathen  manhood,  with  all 
its  duties  and  responsibilities.     No  honourable  marriage 

1  Certain  words  in  the  Scottish  langpiage.  snch  as  cro  or  crcy  (compensa- 
tion, satisfaction),  and  kdchyn  (a  fine),  lead  us  back  to  a  time  when  simi- 
larly rude  arrangements  i>os8e8sed  the  sanction  of  law  in  the  northern 
part  of  onr  island.  It  would  seem  that  the  compensation  or  satisfaction 
made  for  the  slaughter  of  a  man  was  formally  arranged  according  to  his  rank. 
"  The  cro  of  ane  Erie  of  Scotland  is  seven  tymes  twentie  kye,  or  for  ilk 
kow  thrie  pieces  of  Gold  Ora ;  of  an  Erles  sonne,  or  of  ane  Thane,  is  ane 
hundreth  kye ;  or  of  the  sonne  of  an  Thane  thrie  score  sax  kye ;  or  of  ane 
husbandman  saxtene  kye."  A  kdehyn  or  fine  was  also  paid  in  Scotland 
by  one  guUty  of  manslaughter,  generally  to  the  kindred  of  the  person 
kiUed.— Jamieson's  ScoUi$h  Dictionary :  "  Cro,"  "  Kelchyn.** 


376  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

could  take  place  with  a  man  who  had  not  gone  throa^ 
the  "  boguera  "  or  initial  ceremony.  It  is  also  the  season 
when  the  youths  are  instructed  in  the  wisdom  of  the 
ancestors  of  the  tribe.  But  above  all,  it  is  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  youths  into  social  life,  under  a  r^imental 
name  which  they  receive  during  the  progress  of  the  cere- 
mony, and  which  will  be  their  collective  designation  as 
long  as  they  live.  The  chief  endeavours  to  keep  back  or  to 
hasten  forward  the  circumcision  of  his  own  sons  so  as  that 
one  shall  be  in  each  succeeding  regiment ;  but  failing  that, 
one  of  the  children  of  a  near  relative  of  the  chief  is 
appointed  captain  of  the  newly-coUected  force.  The  first 
and  great  lesson  which  the  Bechuana  youth  is  taught  is  to 
endure  pain.  The  elders  in  his  own  &mily  collect  mor- 
etlwa  rods  (corresponding  to  the  "  birch  "  rods  of  our  own 
country),  and,  headed  by  the  priests,  march  in  procession 
to  the  encampment  of  the  novices.  They  join  in  a  sacred 
dance ;  and  afterwards  the  initiated  select  their  own  rela- 
tives from  among  the  boys.  The  men  now  testify  the 
depth  of  their  afifection  for  their  sons  and  younger  brothers, 
and  the  genuineness  of  their  interest  in  their  future  wel- 
fare, by  the  severity  of  the  flogging  which  they  inflict 
upon  them.  I  never  saw  a  Bechuana  man  throw  aside  his 
mantle  without  exposing  on  his  back  the  deep,  broad 
marks  of  the  chastisement  which  he  had  received  while 
being  introduced  to  Bechuana  manhood. 

"  How  deeply  you  are  marked  I"  I  said  to  one  of  my 
meiL 

"Monare"  (Sir),  was  the  sapient  reply,  "you  must,  no 
doubt,  have  also  observed  my  superior  wisdom.  Yon  see 
my  father  did  not  beat  me  so  severely  in  vain  I"* 

1  It  was  formerly  almost  as  severe  an  ordeal  to  the  flesh  to  be<^>ine  t 
Scottish  burgess  as  it  is  at  present  to  become  a  Bechuana  citizen.  We  an 
told  that  in  "  riding  the  marches  "  of  a  town  in  Scotland,  it  was  caaUmuy 
to  take  those  who  had  been  made  burgesses  during  the  year,  and  to  stzike 


KELIGION  AND  POLITY.  377 

There  is  a  second  ceremony  usually  performed  in  the 
succeeding  year,  and  which,  although  of  subordinate  char- 
acter and  importance,  is  still  necessary  to  the  completion 
of  the  training  of  the  young  man.  After  the  first  year's 
ceremony  the  regiment  of  boys  is  sent  out  under  the  com- 
mand of  their  own  captain  to  hunt  antelopes.  Every  one 
must  prove  that  he  has  at  least  killed  one  before  they 
return.  On  the  completion  of  the  second  year's  ceremony, 
the  youths  are  again  ordered  to  the  field,  now  to  kill  a 
rhinoceros,  a  buffalo,  or  an  elephant.  Having  accomplished 
this,  the  Bechuana  youths  have  won  for  themselves  the 
position  of  men  in  the  tribe.  They  live  in  different  parts 
of  the  town ;  and  as  civilians  own  allegiance  to  different 
head  men,  but  they  are  nevertheless  one  compact  body  for 
warlike  or  other  purposes.  The  chief  has  only  to  announce 
to  their  captain  that  they  must  assemble  at  a  certain  time, 
to  have  his  order  obeyed.  The  only  way  a  Bechuana  man 
has  of  telling  you  his  age  is  to  mention  the  name  of  his  regi- 
ment, and  the  names  of  one  or  two  men  in  it  whom  you 
know.  The  idea  of  counting  years  or  days  was  unknown  to 
Bechuanas.  Sometimes  for  practical  purposes,  if  a  regiment 
has  been  cut  up  in  war,  it  may  be  united  with  another 
next  it  in  age ;  but  the  name  is  not  changed.  It  is  sad  to 
see  a  whole  company  of  Bechuana  old  men  marching 
together,  nearly  every  one  showing  some  indication  of 
failing  powers.  Few  of  these  men  have  learned  to  shoot 
with  the  gun,  a  weapon  which  is  eagerly  sought  after  by 

iheir  buttocks  on  a  stone.  This  was  caUed  "bnrgessing.**  **  This  harsh 
custom,  besides  the  diversion  afforded  to  the  unpolished  agents,  might  be 
sapposed  to  have  the  same  influence  in  assisting  the  local  memory  of  the 
patients,  as  that  said  to  exist  among  the  native  and  more  wild  Irish,  who 
daring  the  night  go  the  round  of  the  estates  to  which  they  still  lay  claim, 
as  having  belonged  to  their  ancestors  ;  and  for  the  purpose  of  more  deeply 
impressing  on  the  memories  of  their  children  the  boundaries  of  the  several 
properties,  at  certain  resting-places  give  them  a  sound  flogging." — Jamie-* 
son's  Scot  Diet. :  *'  Burgess." 


378  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

younger  men,  but  more  for  the  purpose  of  hunting  than 
as  a  weapon  of  war. 

The  early  missionaries  opposed  circumcision  as  a  re- 
ligious rite ;  therefore  in  the  course  of  years  it  came  to  be 
the  token  of  a  young  man's  sincerity  and  of  his  parent^ 
Christian  principle  that  he  should  refrain  from  this 
heathen  ceremony.  The  missionaries  said,  in  effect,  to 
the  people,  "  There  are  two  ways  and  two  rites :  the  way 
of  God's  Word  and  the  way  of  heathenism ;  the  rite  of 
baptism  and  the  rite  of  circumcision.  Let  all  give  up  the 
one  and  adopt  the  other."  I£  all  had  done  so,  some  odier 
method  of  social  and  military  organization  would  no  doubt 
have  been  adopted  by  the  various  tribes.  But  the  cfaiefe 
who  stuck  to  the  old  customs  blamed  the  converts  in  thai 
towns,  not  only  for  changing  their  religion  but  for  refuang 
to  enrol  themselves  as  subjects,  and  to  enlist  as  militia>m» 
or  soldiers.  I  once  pleaded  with  Sekhome  that  he  would 
institute  some  new  token  of  obedience  and  of  social  and 
military  organization  at  Shoshong,  mentioning  the  weaiii^ 
of  a  certain  head-dress  or  the  canying  of  certain  coloan ; 
and  to  dispense  with  the  present  ceremony  for  all  who  did 
not  wish  to  attend  it.  I  admitted  that  I  wished  the 
people  to  leave  him  as  priest,  but  declared  that  I  desired 
his  people  to  be  subject  to  him  as  commander  of  the  army 
of  the  tribe.  I  wished  all  to  be  Christians,  and  yet  all  to 
remain  Bamangwato.  But,  as  was  to  be  expected,  no  new 
thing  was  so  inviting  to  Sekhome  as  the  customs  whidi 
had  the  sanctions  of  immemorial  usage. 

Bechuana  women  do  not  occupy  a  very  dignified  por- 
tion in  the  country ;  still  they  have  a  corporate  existence 
in  regiments  as  well  as  the  men.  During  the  administra- 
tion of  "  boyali,"  the  rite  initiatory  to  womanhood,  the 
girls  are  assembled  every  day  in  the  town,  under  the 
leadership  of  two  or  more  old  women,  who  instruct  them 


KKLIGION  AND  poury.  879 

in  all  the  duties  of  their  future  life.  They  draw  -water 
and  bring  home  firewood,  and  perfonn  other  female  duties, 
the  clothing  of  the  poor  creatures  being,  in  the  meantime, 
nothing  but  coUs  of  rough  reeds,  cut  into  pieces  and  strong 
like  beads.  Their  faces  and  limbs  are  smeared  over  with 
white  earth.  Wherever  they  go  they  tdng  in  choma ;  but 
tbey  presented  a  veiy  sony  spectacle  in  the  cold  winter 
mornings  when  they  passed  my  house  shivering,  with  their 
water-pots  on  their  heads.     They  are  kept  night  after 


night  from  sleeping,  being  caused  to  sit  on  the  "  motoe " 
or  mortar  in  which  the  com  is  pounded.  Should  they 
sleep,  thf^  themselTes  speedily  give  notice  of  the  fact  by 
falling  over.  In  all  this  blindness  and  misery  there  is 
again  the  noble  idea  of  bearing  up  under  hardship  and 
pain.  And  they  learn  the  lesson  well.  I  once  extracted 
a  bullet  from  a  man's  face,  which,  entering  at  one  cheek, 
liad  destroyed  his  nose  and  rested  beneath  the  cheek-bone 
on  the  other  side.  The  man  never  winced,  and  certainly 
he  was  not  spared  pain  by  the  skill  of  the  operatOT.  He 
is  now  almost  as  handsome  as  he  was  before  I  the  nose, 
however,  being  lees  prominent.  I  have  been  perfectly 
Mtonished  at  the  power  of  endurance  exhibited   by  the 


380         NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

Bechuana  women.  Sekhome  one  day  brought  one  of  his 
female  relatives  to  have  a  tooth  extracted  It  was  partly 
decayed,  and  unfortunately  broke  while  being  puUed  out. 
The  woman  did  not  show  the  slightest  impatience,  but 
waited  with  outward  impassiveness  till  I  had  extracted  the 
last  piece;  then  clearing  her  mouth,  she  gathered  her 
mantle  about  her  and  walked  away. 

*^  That  is  a  true  woman,"  said  the  chief  to  his  attend- 
ants, who  had  been  witnesses  of  the  operation. 
"  Yes,"  they  replied ;  "  she  has  a  large  heart" 
To  endure  is  the  lot  of  man  on  eartL  In  Bechuana- 
land,  as  elsewhere,  human  life  is  a  struggle.  But  it  is 
surely  a  nobler  and  higher  attitude  of  the  mind  to  endure 
suffering  and  trial  in  the  spirit  of  the  Christian,  as  the 
will  of  a  Father  rather  than  doggedly  to  sit  down  and 
bear  what  is  held  to  be  inevitable  fate.  The  missionaiy 
does  not  wish  to  change  the  feelings  of  the  Bechuanas  as 
to  the  worthiness  of  him  who  can  endure ;  but  rather  to 
heighten  and  purify  this  feeling  by  the  examples  of  snfier- 
ing  in  God's  Word,  and  especially  in  the  life  and  death 
of  Him  "who  bore  our  griefs  and  carried  our  sorrows," 
"  yet  opened  not  his  mouth."  And  Christianity  adds  yet 
other  ideas,  of  which  the  enduring  dark-minded  heathen 
sufferer  did  not  dream.  Human  suffering  is  moral  discip- 
line, not  only  ennobling  the  present  life,  but  fitting  for  a 
future  state  of  existence, — the  chastening  and  training  of  a 
Father  for  the  benefit  of  His  child.  The  Christian  Be- 
chuanas are  therefore  taught  to  endure  pain  and  sufilCTig 
with  even  greater  composure  than  their  heathen  neigh- 
bours. There  is  an  object  in  their  sufferings — ^their  own 
highest  well-being;  and  the  pain  is  inflicted,  not  by  the 
callous  hand  of  an  earthly  priest,  but  is  meted  out  by  a 
Father's  love,  and  shared  by  the  Great  High  Priest  of  the 
Christian :   "  For  we  have  not  an  high  priest  who  cannot 


RELIGION  AND  POLITY.  381 

be  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities ;  but  was  in 
all  points  tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin." 

As  ngaka  or  priest,  the  chief  is  supported  by  a  class  of 
men  (lingaka)  who  not  only  practise  the  art  of  healing  but 
are  professors  of  witchcraft,  and  have  taken  degrees  in 
rain-making.  In  Shoshong  there  are  a  good  many  of  this 
influential  class.  Admission  to  the  profession  is  to  be 
obtained  on  the  payment  of  a  fee,  and  going  through  a 
course  of  learning  under  one  or  more  of  the  initiated.  An 
ox  is  the  usual  fee  on  entrance.  The  instruction  is  called 
**  teaching  to  dig,"  because  most  medicines  and  charms  are 
obtained  from  plants  which  are  dug  up  in  the  fields.  So 
the  Bechuana  lecturer  takes  his  pupil  or  pupils  with  him  to 
the  open  country  one  day,  and  to  the  mountains  the  next, 
and  shows  him  where  the  healing  plants  are  to  be  found. 
In  the  course  of  time  he  communicates  to  his  pupil  all  his 
own  knowledge.  The  disciple  now  begins  to  practise  in  the 
town,  and  is  permitted  to  wear  the  baboon-skin  mantle  or 
head-dress,  and  to  sit  on  a  hyena-skin  mat,  which  are  both 
sacred  to  this  profession. 

Prayers  and  incantations  are  used  by  the  doctors  when 
they  are  preparing  and  administering  their  medicine,  and 
frequently  the  divining-dice  are  thrown,  and  the  doctor 
will  then  assure  his  patient  that  he  will  soon  be  better. 

"Why  don't  you  throw  the  dice,  Monarel"  said  the 
wife  of  a  man  whom  I  was  attending,  and  who  had  been 
given  up  by  the  native  doctors ;  "  your  medicines  are  no 
doubt  good,  but  you  ought  also  to  throw  the  divining- 
dice." 

She  hardly  confided  in  one  who  did  not  come  with  the 
fuss  and  noise  of  the  man  of  many  ceremonies,  who  had 
attended  her  husband  as  long  as  he  got  any  fees,  but 
afterwards  gave  up  the  case. 

The  belief  in  divination  by  throwing  dice  is  exemplified 


382  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

in  a  remarkable  way  by  the  Bechuana  doctors  in  cases  of 
severe  illness.  A  consultation  of  medical  men  is  the  last 
resort  in  such  extreme  cases  in  England ;  but  in  Bechuana- 
land  there  is  still  another  appeal  When  a  case  has  bi^ed 
all  medical  skill  the  Bamangwato  doctors  produce  their 
divining-dice.  Certain  herbs  are  represented  by  certain 
positions  of  the  dice ;  and  the  medicine  which  is  thus  pre- 
scribed for  their  patient  is  unhesitatingly  administered  by 
the  doctors,  whatever  the  result  should  be.  They  had 
before  exercised  their  own  highest  judgment;  they  now 
follow  the  supposed  unseen  guidance  which  they  invoke. 

When  a  Bechuana  doctor  is  attending  a  stingy  patient, 
he  has  ways  and  means  of  extracting  a  fee  which  seem  to 
be  peculiar  to  that  part  of  the  world.  He  tells  the  patient 
that  in  order  to  be  cured  he  must  lie  upon  a  skin  of  a 
certain  colour,  and  that  his  blanket  must  be  of  a  kind 
which  he  specifies.  The  doctor^s  keen  eyes  have  observed 
both  the  articles  which  he  describes  hanging  in  the  sick 
man's  house.  In  the  course  of  his  attendance  the  practi- 
titioner  causes  his  patient  to  perspire  violently,  and  next 
moming  rubs  aU  his  body  very  carefully  with  his  b»» 
hand.  The  dirt  which  falls  from  the  body  on  the  skin, 
and  which  adheres  to  the  blanket,  is  declared  by  the  medical 
attendant  to  be  the  seeds  of  the  disease  of  which  the  man 
has  been  complaining.  Therefore  these  articles  are  andean 
and  dangerous,  and  henceforth  of  use  only  to  the  doctoi; 
who  has  powerful  charms  to  counteract  the  disease  which 
is  upon  them.  So  the  Bechuana  doctor  carefully  sweeps 
all  the  dirt  into  the  skins,  proceeds  to  the  open  coimtiy, 
digs  a  hole,  and  buries,  not  the  skins,  but  the  dirt,  and  the 
imaginary  disease,  and  having  vigorously  charmed  the  skins 
sells  them,  or  wears  them  himself. 

The  only  surgical  operation  which  is  performed  by 
Bechuanas  for  the  cure  of  disease  is  that  of  cupping,  which 


RELIGION  AND  POLITY.  383 

is  not  so  often  done  by  the  regular  doctors  as  by  certain 
"  skilled  women,**  who  charge  a  fee  for  their  services. 

But  while  the  lingaka  have  thus  their  own  private 
practice,  there  are  also  certain  public  duties  devolving 
upon  them  in  virtue  of  their  profession.  The  Bamangwato 
have  no  town-idol  like  the  piece  of  wood  which  is  erected 
by  the  Makalaka  in  their  town,  and  to  which  they  make 
offerings  from  time  to  time.  But  there  are  the  ^  lipeku  " 
or  town-charms,  which  are  renewed  every  year,  and  which 
are  supposed  to  protect  and  bless  the  town.  The  varied 
ingredients  are  concocted  by  the  united  wisdom  of  the 
thief  doctor  and  all  his  assistants.  It  is  held  to  be  the 
highest  and  most  sacred  and  mysterious  service  performed 
in  the  town.  One  of  the  observances  is  to  select  an  ox, 
which  is  caught,  and  its  eyelids  sewed  together,  when  it  is 
again  allowed  to  rejoin  the  troop.  It  is  called  the  ^  ox  of 
the  lipeku  or  charms.'*  It  is  eventually  slaughtered  as  a 
religious  rite  by  the  priests.  When  the  concoction  of  the 
charms  ia  completed,  part  of  the  contents  of  the  sacred  vessels 
in  which  they  have  been  prepared  is  emptied  into  small 
calabashes  or  gourds,  more  than  a  dozen  of  which  hang  from 
the  person  of  the  head  sorcerer  on  public  occasions,  espe- 
cially in  time  of  war.  During  the  attack  by  the  Matebele 
Sekhome  was  always  arrayed  with  these  calabashes  round 
his  shoulders  and  waist,  which  gave  him  a  most  fantastic 
appearance.  By  means  of  them  he  was  supposed  to  be 
able  to  protect  his  own  people,  and  to  bring  evil  upon 
6is  enemies.  Another  portion  of  the  "lipeku"  is  con- 
veyed outside  the  town  by  the  priests,  and  placed  on  all 
the  paths  which  lead  into  it.  Nothing  is  visible  above  the 
ground  but  a  pair  of  horns,  it  may  be  of  a  koodoo  or  some 
other  antelope.  A  native  would  not  touch  these  horns  for 
the  world.  I  was  once  in  my  ignorance  about  to  pull 
them  up,  when  one  of  my  servants  ran  to  interrupt  me 


384  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

with  the  gravest  face,  and  informed  me  that  "  these  were 
not  mere  horns :  it  was  lipeku,  and  had  been  placed  there 
by  the  town  priests."  Sometimes  a  native  pot  is  used  for 
these  charms,  and  is  then  always  turned  upside  down.  To 
uncover  it  woidd  be  regarded  as  a  profme  and  insulting 
action.  A  few  years  ago  a  white  man,  ignorant  of  these 
things,  was  trading  at  a  Bechuana  town,  and  trying  one  of 
his  guns  before  a  number  of  people.  Noticing  a  small 
object  on  the  adjoining  hill,  he  took  aim  and  hit  it  To 
his  surprise  be  found  that  he  had  committed  a  giave 
offence,  having  broken  a  pot  containing  chanos  which  had 
been  placed  in  that  conspicuous  position  by  the  priests ! 

The  ^  making  of  rain "  is  attended  to  by  this  class  (^ 
men.  But  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  call  them  rain-maken, 
as  if  that  were  their  only  task.  It  is  only  one  of  the 
numerous  duties  which  they  undertake  to  perform.  The 
most  popidar  rain-makers  must  come  from  a  well-watered 
country.  This  is  always  mentioned  in  commendation  of 
any  '*  doctor"  or  priest  who  has  come  to  make  rain  f(Nr 
the  gardens,  and  who  appears  laden  with  medical  roots  and 
barks  and  leaves,  which  he  sells  to  the  people  for  beads  and 
for  other  articles.  During  one  or  two  years  Sekhome  con- 
tented himself  with  his  own  efforts  and  those  of  his  feQow 
priests  at  Shoshong;  but  on  other  occasions  Malokwana 
from  the  east  made  their  appearance,  and  undertook  to 
water  the  gardens  for  the  season.  They  come  from  what 
is  now  the  northern  part  of  the  Transvaal  country.  I 
rather  puzzled  one  of  them  by  addng  him  if  the  rain  still 
fell  in  his  countiy  after  the  Dutchmen  had  taken  posses- 
sion of  it  ? 

"0  yes,  it  rains  a  great  deal  every  year."  "That's 
strange,"  I  replied.  "Who  makes  it  now!  The  DutA 
don't  make  rain ;  they  have  taken  the  country  from  yoo, 
the  rain-makers,  and  yet  it  continues  to  rain  there !     Does 


RELIGION  AND  POLITY.  385 

not  that  prove  that  while  the  country  was  in  your  possession 
your  medicines  had  not  so  very  much  to  do  with  the  rain 
which  then  feU  1 " 

When  digging  the  gardens  is  to  commence,  their  owners 
proceed  to  the  lingaka,  and  purchase  from  them  a  small 
quantity  of  seed-corn  which  they  have  blessed  or  charmed, 
and  which  is  to  be  planted  in  the  comers  of  the  garden. 
Having  done  this,  the  people  may  not  work  more  that  day. 
On  the  moiTow  they  may  proceed  with  the  digging  of  the 
garden.  As  soon  as  the  digging  commences,  it  is  held  to 
be  improper  to  cut  down  the  branches  of  green  trees  or 
the  trees  themselves  during  the  day.  Such  work  can  only 
be  done  early  in  the  morning  or  in  the  evening.  But 
although  every  green  tree  is  forbidden,  the  hack-thom 
(acacia  detinens)  is  especially  sacred ;  it  would  be  a  great 
offence  to  cut  down  a  bough  from  this  tree  and  to  carry 
it  into  the  town  at  mid-day  in  the  rainy  season.  As  the 
sacred  mistletoe  was  cut  with  formality  by  the  Druid  priest, 
so  when  the  com  is  ripe  in  the  ear,  the  Bechuana  chief 
holds  a  public  assembly,  when  the  people  proceed  with  axes 
to  the  field,  and  each  man  brings  home  on  his  shoulder  a 
branch  of  the  sacred  hack-thorn,  with  which  they  repair 
the  cattle  enclosure  belonging  to  the  town.  It  is  also  for- 
bidden during  this  season  to  carry  about  uncovered  any  of 
the  fruits  of  the  earth.  Ivory  must  also  be  covered  if 
carried  from  one  place  to  another.  If  rain  falls  during 
the  night,  and  continues  in  the  mcMning,  public  notice  is 
given  that  no  one  must  go  to  their  gardens  that  day.  It 
would  stop  the  rain  to  turn  up  the  ground  while  it  is  still 
falling !  At  this  season  the  lingaka  are  frequently  to  be 
seen  on  the  heights  of  the  mountains  near  to  the  town, 
lighting  their  fires,  blowing  their  horns,  whistling,  and 
shouting.  They  have  also  numerous  processions,  and  a 
multitude  of  observances,  which  indeed  take  up  all  their 

2b 


3B6  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

time.     If  the  rain  is  delayed,  it  is  thought  to  be  occasioned 
by  some  remissness  in  administering  the  affairs  of  the 
town.     For  instance,  it  is  a  custom  that  all  widows  and 
widowers  are  ceremonially  unclean  ^  until  they  shall  have 
separated  themselves  from  their  &milies,  and  lived  for 
some  time  outside  the  town  in  booths  erected  for  the  pur- 
pose.    Their  heads  are  shaved  after  a  peculiar  fsishion,  and 
they  are  purified  by  the  priests  before  they  are  allowed 
again  to  join  their  family.      This  custom  is  sometimes 
relaxed ;  but  should  the  rain  be  long  in  coming,  a  row  of 
booths  may  be  seen  outside  the  town,  the  lingaka  having 
resolved  that  they  could  not  expect  nun   unless  they 
attended  to  the  old   customs.     Again,  each  fireplace  is 
supplied  with  three  stones,  upon  which  the  pot  rests  when 
being  cooked.     It  is  held  that  these  may  become  unclean 
or  impure,  and  need  to  be  changed,  not  by  the  own«  of 
the  house,  but  by  the  lingaka  or  doctors.     The  old  stcmes 
are  collected  in  a  heap  outside  the  town.     This  is  also 
attended  to  if  the  rain  fails.     The  fires  themselves  become 
impure,  and  the  lingaka  order  them  all  to  be  put  out 
The  priests  then  go  round  with  lighted  sticks,  which  have 
been  previously  charmed.     Having  seen  that  the  hearth 
has  been  thoroughly  cleared  out,  they  relight  the  fire  firom 
the  pure  source  which  they  carry  with  them  for  the  pui^ 
pose.^    One  day  a  priest  made  his  appearance  at  my  house, 
carrying  in  his  band  a  lighted  stick,  which  had  the  appear- 
ance of  having  been  smeared  over  with  ^medicines."    It 

1  See  Numbers  v.  2,  8. 

*  In  Pagan  times  in  Scotland  it  was  the  custom  every  autumn,  on  vkal 
was  afterwards  called  HaUow-eve,  to  extinguisb  aU  the  fires  in  ^ 
country.  Next  morning  the  people  were  supplied  with  holy  fire,  wUdk 
was  kindled  and  consecrated  by  the  Drui^  In  Ireland,  the  Droidt 
lighted  two  solemn  fires  every  year  on  the  summits  of  the  highest  hiSs. 
On  these  occasions  the  inhabitants  of  the  country  quenched  their  fires,  aad 
relighted  them  from  those  sacred  fires.  In  the  Western  Islands  of  Seoi- 
land  the  Druids  extinguished  the  people's  fires  in  case  of  wrong-doin^  sad 


KELIGION  AND  POLITY.  387 

was  the  first  time  I  had  heard  of  this  ceremony,  which 
would  seem  to  be  the  Afirican  version  of  the  fire  which 
was  represented  to  come  down  annually  from  Jupiter  in 
Southern  Europe,  and  almost  the  same  as  the  sacred  fire 
which  was  dealt  out  to  our  own  forefathers  in  ancient 
Britain  by  their  priests.  I  civilly  declined  the  assistance 
of  this  priest,  telling  him  that  my  fireplace  was  regularly 
swept,  and  that  as  to  all  other  impurity,  I  trusted  to  the 
mercy  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus.  But  Khamane,  the  second 
son  of  Sekhome,  who  was  standing  with  me  at  the  time^ 
could  not  pass  the  matter  over  so  lightly. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  you  are  capable  of  teaching 
or  of  doctoring  the  missionary  1 "  asked  Khamane.  "  What 
can  you  show  for  yourself — ^what  can  your  countrymen, 
the  Malokwana,  show,  who  are  now  the  vassals  of  the 
Boers  1  You  may  deceive  us,  who  are  ignorant  Bamang- 
wato ;  but  it  seems  to  me  to  be  arrant  presumption  in  you, 
a  feeble  vassal  clothed  in  rags,  to  proffer  your  priestly  aid 
to  a  man  like  Makense,  or  to  any  of  his  nation.*' 

The  priests  also  dii'ect  that  all  defilement  should  be 
removed  from  the  country.  Exposed  human  bones  are 
accordingly  buried,  and  other  objects  removed,  by  direc- 
tion of  the  chief  doctor.  Should  the  rain  still  delay,  a 
procession  headed  by  the  priests  proceeds  to  the  grave  of 
some  distinguished  ancestor,  and  there  a  sacrifice  is  offered 
of  a  sheep  or  a  goat,  to  appease  the  spirit  of  the  deceased, 
and  a  prayer  is  presented  to  him,  in  which  he  is  invoked 
to  look  upon  the  distress  of  his  children,  and  to  help 

also  on  account  of  the  non-payment  of  their  dues  as  priests. — Jamieson's 
Scottish  Dictionary :  *'  Shannach ; "  Mffrtin*s  Western  Islands,  p.  105. 
In  onr  own  time,  in  the  Highlands,  the  first  day  of  May  is  caUed  Beltane- 
day,  i.e.,  the  day  of  Baal's  fire.  When  a  boy,  I  myself  rolled  on  the  green- 
sward round  cakes  of  a  peculiar  kind  on  Beltane-day.  Fires  were  also 
lighted  at  night  on  prominent  places.  These  were  called  Baal-fires.  We 
did  not  know,  as  children,  that  we  were  taking  part  in  the  lingering  Pagan 
urorship  of  our  rude  forefathers. 


388  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

them.  This  ceremony  is  always  sppken  of  with  solemnity, 
and  is  regarded  as  most  efficacious. 

The  wildest  remarks  are  made  by  the  lingaka  when  their 
charms  and  incantations  are  of  no  avail  I  heard  it  sug- 
gested by  one  of  them  that  "  there  were  too  many  white 
waggons  in  the  town  for  rain  to  flEdL"  Sekhome,  how- 
ever, did  not  agree  in  this  opinion.  I  often  heard  that 
the  traders  and  hunters  were  ordered  ''  to  cease  firing  guns 
when  the  clouds  were  so  near, — ^the  report  of  the  guns 
would  frighten  them  away  I  " 

At  Shoshong,  however,  it  was  usually  an  easy  matter  to 
"  make  rain."  It  might  be  late,  but  it  always  came.  Some 
years  both  "  the  former  and  the  latter  rains  "  fell  in  abun- 
dance, and  there  was  always  either  the  one  or  the  other. 
After  copious  rains  had  fallen,  an  offering  of  joy  and 
thanksgiving  is  placed  in  the  most  crowded  street  of  the 
town,  consisting  of  two  or  three  large  dishes  filled  with  the 
rain-water,  and  with  certain  herbs  and  charms.  In  the 
evenings,  the  town,  which  had  been  hushed  under  the 
calamity  of  drought,  now  resounds  with  the  boisterous 
dance,  which  is  carried  on  in  almost  every  little  koda  or 
court-yard.  The  little  children  gather  on  the  street,  and 
shout  and  sing  and  clap  their  hands  for  joy.  The  lingaka, 
and  the  old  men  generally,  show  their  gladness  in  a  quieter 
if  not  more  sober  fashion,  informing  their  wives  that  they 
must  not  be  stingy  any  more  with  the  com  for  the  beer. 
**  The  rain  has  fallen,"  is  the  joyous  cry  of  every  ona 

There  is  a  certain  amount  of  suspicion  connected  with 
the  word  "  ngaka  "  (doctor,  sorcerer) ;  but  when  the  super- 
human power  is  supposed  to  be  brought  into  requisition 
for  an  evil  purpose,  the  name  is  changed  and  the  man  is 
called  a  "  moloi "  (wizard).  But  the  wizard  is  always  a 
doctor,  and  his  crime  is  that  he  turns  his  knowledge  to 
evil  purposes.     This  is  the  most  hateful  term  you  can 


RELIGIOIJ  AND  POLITY.  ^  389 

apply  to  aBechuana  man,  combining  the  ideas  of  murderer 
and  sneak.  It  is  to  be  explained  that  in  doctoring  the 
simplest  case,  the  lingaka  inculcate  the  belief  that  although 
they  choose  to  give  medicines,  they,  and  not  the  medicines, 
effect  the  cure.  They  "  chann  "  the  sickness  by  power  in 
them,  and  do  not  "  cure "  it  by  the  mere  action  of  the 
medicine.  And  so  when  members  of  this  profession  lend 
themselves  to  advance  the  interests  of  a  chief  or  a  party, 
they  "  charm "  or  cast  spells  over  houses,  over  persons 
when  asleep,  and  over  footpaths  or  other  places  resorted 
to  by  the  objects  of  their  enmity.  A  moloi  is  represented 
as  often  gliding  about  through  the  streets  of  the  town  at 
night.  He  makes  no  noise.  The  dogs  do  not  bark  at 
him.  He  can  go  where  he  likes.  One  says  he  saw  a 
wizard  mounted  on  the  back  of  a  hyena  flying  through  the 
streets  at  night;  another  declares  one  glided  past  him 
quite  close,  and  seemed  to  be  all  spirit  or  shadow  without 
any  body.  "The  baloi"  (the  wizards)  is  an  expression 
often  used  to  frighten  naughty  children  by  the  Bamang- 
wato  mothers.  For  my  own  part,  while  I  have  often  met 
the  hyenas  prowling  about  the  streets  when  coming  home 
late  at  night,  I  never  saw  one  mounted  by  a  wizard ! 

The  Bechuana  sorcerers  believe  that  if  they  can  make 
rain,  they  can  also  drive  it  away.  One  of  the  readiest  and 
most  powerful  spells  by  which  to  accomplish  this  end,  is  to 
thrust  the  green  branches  of  a  certain  bush  into  the  fire, 
the  proper  charms  being  repeated  at  the  same  time.  I  have 
frequently  seen  this  done,  and  sometimes  in  earnest,  by 
heathen  men,  who  did  not  wish  when  travelling  to  have 
themselves  and  their  possessions  soaked  with  the  tropical 
thunder-shower.  It  will  be  evident  that  malice  and  super- 
stition would  find  ample  scope  in  this  direction.  For 
instance,  Sekhome  sent  with  Mr.  Price  one  summer  a  party 
of  men  who  were  secretly  charged  by  the  old  moloi  or 
wizard  to  "  loa  "  or  "  bewitch  "  the  corn-fields  of  Sechele. 


390  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

Mr.  Price  was  entirely  ignorant  of  their  object,  some  law- 
ful and  plausible  story  having  been  told  him  by  Sekhome 
as  to  their  errand.     Sediele  caught  these  men,  with  aD 
their  charms,  ahnost  in  the  very  act  of  bewitching  his  corn- 
fields.     Notwithstanding  the   deception  which  had  been 
practised  on  himself,  Mr.  Price  interceded  with  the  Ba- 
kwenafor  the  wizards'  lives,  and  having  obtained  a  promise 
that  they  would  not  be  put  to  death,  left  them  to  thdr 
punishment,  and  went   on  his  journey.      The  Bakwena 
conveyed  the  men,  with  their  charms  still  in  their  posses- 
sion, as  far  as  the  borders  of  Sekhome's  territory,  when 
they  mixed  all  the  medicines  together,  and  stripping  the 
wizards,  smeared  their  bodies  with  their  own  preparations, 
and  set  them  free.     The  discomfited  *^  baloi "  were  ashamed 
to  go  into  the  town,  but  turned  aside  to  some  cattle-post  or 
Tillage  till  they  had  removed  all  marks  of  such  a  deep  dis- 
grace.    I  afterwards  questioned  Sechele  as  to  whether  he 
believed  in  the  potency  of  these  charms  to  injure  his  crops. 
He  replied  in  the  afi&rmative. 

It  may  be  mentioned  that  the  wizards  are  supposed  to 
use  parts  of  the  bodies  of  men,  which  they  secure  after  death. 
A  still-bom  child  is  said  to  supply  their  &vourite  and  most 
potent  speUs.  A  certain  white  pebble,  which  I  have  never 
myself  seen,  is  also  used.  It  is  thrown  into  the  court-yard 
of  a  rival,  in  the  belief  that  it  will  disorder  his  ideas,  tam 
and  warp  his  judgment,  so  that  his  followers  shidl  forsake 
him,  and  he  become  a  prey  to  his  enemies.  The  deadliest 
poison  is  said  to  be  obtained  from  the  body  of  the  crocodile, 
therefore  it  was  forbidden  to  kill  them  in  the  Matehde 
country.  To  illustrate  the  length  to  which  superstition  will 
lead  men  in  evil  and  in  credulity,  it  is  held  to  be  possible  fot 
a  sorcerer  to  "  give  over  "  a  certain  man,  who  has  gone  to 
hunt,  to  a  buffalo,  or  elephant,  or  other  animal  The  wizard 
is  believed  to  be  able  to  "  charge  "  the  animal  to  put  the  man 
to  death !     If  two  men  quarrel,  the  one  will  wait  tiU  the 


RELIGION  AND  POLITY.  391 

other  goes  to  hunt,  when  he  employs  and  pays  for  the 
secret  services  of  some  wizard,  with  the  view  of  compassing 
his  absent  enemy's  death  while  engaged  in  the  hunt  And 
so  when  it  is  announced  that  a  certain  person  has  been 
killed  in  the  hunting-field,  some  of  his  friends  will  remark, 
**  It  is  the  work  of  enemies ;  he  was  *  given  *  to  the  wild 
beast.  The  wizards  will  finish  all  the  men  in  the  town 
with  their  witchcraft." 

If  lighting  fires  on  the  tops  of  mountains  by  the  Be- 
chuana  priests  reminds  one  of  the  ancient  worship  on  the 
heights  or  ^'  high  places  of  Baal,"  as  practised  both  in  Asia 
and  in  Europe,  the  following  ceremony  woulcl  seem  to  be 
allied  to  the  grove-worship,  which  was  as  extensively 
resorted  to.  It  seems  that  if  a  Bechuana  man,  while  either 
banting  or  journeying,  finds  himself  in  the  depths  of  a 
forest,  when  he  reaches  what  seems  the  darkest  or  gloomiest 
part,  he  will  select  the  largest  tree  in  his  neighbourhood,  and 
prostrate  himself  before  it  in  prayer.  **  To  whom,  or  to  what, 
does  he  pray  V*  I  have  asked.  "  Oa  rapela  hela  " — "  He  just 
prays."  This  was  all  the  answer  I  could  obtain  on  that 
point  Of  course  there  was  no  hesitation  as  to  the  burden 
of  the  prayer  itself.  It  was  for  all  the  elements  of  pro- 
sperity from  the  suppliant's  point  of  view— in  his  house, 
his  garden,  his  cattle-post,  his  hunting  trip  or  journey,  as 
the  case  might  be. 

On  entering  a  Bechuana  town  you  see  numbers  of  stones 
caught  between  the  forked  branches  of  trees  on  each  side 
of  the  road.  They  have  been  placed  there  by  men  enter- 
ing the  town  on  some  important  matter,  and  who  have 
performed  this  act  as  the  means  of  procuring  for  themselves 
success  in  the  business  which  they  had  in  hand. 

There  are  very  many  things  which  occur  in  the  daily  life 
of  a  Bechuana  man  to  cause  him  misfortune  according  to  the 
old  belief.  Each  tribe  has  its  **  sacred  animal "  to  which 
it  is  said  to  "  dance."     The  puti  was  the  sacred  animal  of 


392  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

the  Bamangwato.  To  look  on  it  was  a  calamity  to  the 
hunter  or  to  the  women  going  to  the  gardens.  The  Haka- 
laka,  however,  kiU  the  same  animal,  and  dress  its  skins,  bat 
they  may  not  wear  them  in  the  town.  They  are  iherrfore 
often  sold  to  the  traders.  I  had  at  one  time  a  mat  of  puti 
skin  at  my  door,  at  a  time  when  I  did  not  know  so  much 
about  these  customs.  Sekhome  called  to  see  me,  and  not 
noticing  the  skin  on  entering,  walked  over  it.  But  on  his 
way  out,  just  as  he  was  about  to  tread  on  it  again,  my 
attention  was  excited  by  the  antics  of  the  chie^  who,  in 
the  most  undignified  manner,  was  springing  first  to  one  side, 
then  to  another  of  the  dreaded  skin !  Although  Sekhome 
made  no  remark,  I  of  course  lifted  the  mat,  and  put  in  its 
place  another,  upon  which  my  visitors  would  not  be  a^d 
to  tread.  If  an  owl  rests  on  a  house  it  is  a  great  calamity. 
The  ngaka  is  sent  for  at  once,  who  scrambles  up  to  the 
place  where  the  unclean  bird  sat,  and  purifies  the  place 
with  his  charms.  If  a  goat  climbs  upon  the  roof  of  a 
house  it  is  speared  at  once;  it  has  "transgressed,"  gone 
beyond  what  is  proper  in  a  goat,  and  would  bewitch  its 
owner  if  it  were  not  put  to  death.  If  the  native  owner  ef 
cattle  visits  his  pen  at  night,  and  hears  a  dull  sound  at 
intervals  from  among  the  cattle,  he  creeps  up  stealthily  to 
see  from  which  animal  the  alarming  noise  proceeds.  It  iB 
one  of  his  cows  or  oxen  quietly  beating  the  ground  with 
its  tail.  This  is  a  very  serious  matter.  It  is  an  offence 
which  has  got  a  special  designation.  The  cow  is  said  to 
"tiba,"  and  this  implies  that  she  is  no  longer  a  mere  cow; 
she  is  bewitched,  and  she  only  waits  her  opportunity  to 
bring  disease  or  death  upon  her  owner  or  bis  household. 
A  man  who  is  rich  in  cattle  would  not  hesitate  to  spear 
such  an  animal  at  once.  A  poorer  man  will  proceed  with 
the  cow  next  morning  to  the  missionary  or  to  a  trader,  and 
offer  her  for  sale.  As  it  is  almost  a  rule  with  the  natifos 
never  to  sell  their  breeding  cows,  it  was  only  through  tins 


KELIGION  AND  POLITY.  393 

superstition  that  we  could  purchase  such  animals  from 
them.  The  neighbouring  Matshwapong  were  not  afraid  of 
cattle  which  had  this  habit,  and  the  Bamangwato  could 
sometimes  exchange  cattle  with  them.  Such  are  a  few  of 
the  numberless  terrors  which  haunt  the  minds  of  the 
benighted  pagan.  What  a  thrilling  message  to  deliver  to 
these  bond-slaves  of  superstition,  "  Fear -no  one  but  Gtod ; 
fear  nothing  but  evil  I " 

There  are  many  ceremonies  in  a  Bechuana  town  which 
remind  one  of  the  Levitical  code.  Some  of  these  are  the 
•purifying  of  weapons  of  war ;  the  cleansing  of  those  who 
have  been  in  the  fight  before  they  are  allowed  to  re-enter 
the  town ;  the  cleansing  of  captives  and  refiigees,  as  also 
of  cattle  or  goods  taken  in  war ;  their  antipathy  to  swine ; 
the  undeanness  of  such  as  have  touched  or  approached  a 
dead  body,  and  the  mode  of  purification ;  the  seclusion  of 
a  woman  after  childbirth,  extending  among  Bechuana 
'^  ladies  "  to  two  and  three  months,  and  even  among  poor 
people  to  one  month ;  the  custom  of  "  raising  up  seed  "  to 
a  deceased  brother  or  relative ;  the  practice  of  "  shutting 
up  "  a  sick  person,  after  it  is  supposed  he  is  seriously  ill, 
when  not  even  his  nearest  relatives  may  enter  his  enclosure 
without  being  defiled ;  the  practice  of  shaving  round  the 
head  in  purification,  and  yet  not  "  causing  baldness."  In 
making  a  public  covenant  or  agreement  with  one  another, 
two  chiefs  "tshwaragana  moshwang; "  that  is  to  say,  an 
animal  is  slaughtered,  and  some  of  the  contents  of  its 
stomach  are  laid  hold  of  by  both  covenanting  parties,  their 
hands  meeting  together  and  laying  hold  of  each  other, 
while  covered  over  with  the  contents  of  the  sacrificed 
animal's  stomach.  This  would  seem  to  be  the  most  solemn 
form  of  public  agreement  known  in  the  country.  It  was 
performed  more  than  once  at  Shoshong  while  I  was  there, 
in  the  case  of  chiefs  who,  with  their  people,  placed  them- 
selves under  Sekhome's  protection. 


394  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RITER. 

Morimo  (God)  has  not  been  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
description  of  native  worship  and  saperstition.  When 
missionaries  first  met  with  Bechuanas  they  addressed  ^em 
through  the  Dutch  language.  Thej  found  Bechuanas 
who  could  already  speak  both  languages,  and  who  tJiere- 
fore  acted  as  interpreters.  At  Griqua  Town  there  were 
(and  are  still)  regular  services  in  both  languages.  He 
invariable  equivalent  for  God  in  Dutch,  given  by  all 
the  interpreters,  was  Morimo.  It  was  no  suggestion  of  the 
missionaries :  the  Bechuana  interpreters,  after  hearing  con- 
cerning God  in  the  Dutch  language,  said  that  their  name 
for  Him  was  Morimo.  But  it  is  a  singular  fact  that^  on 
further  inquiry,  there  was  found  to  be  little  else  known  to 
the  people  besides  this  Name.  There  was  no  worship  or 
service  rendered  to  Morimo  in  all  Bechuana-lancL  Like 
the  good  deities  in  India  and  elsewhere,  Morimo  had  be^ 
apparently  lost  sight  of  and  well-nigh  forgotten  by  the 
people  in  their  eagerness  to  propitiate  the  evil  influences  by 
which  they  believed  themselves  to  be  immediately  sor- 
rounded.  It  is  said  that  the  condition  of  some  men  with  refio^ 
ence  to  the  knowledge  of  God  may  be  likened  to  a  state  wdl 
known  to  all  of  us, — when  we  know  a  name  but  cannot 
recollect  it.  But  the  Bechuanas  would  seem  never  to  have 
entirely  forgotten  God.  His  name  was  found  by  the  mis- 
sionaries still  floating  in  their  language.  Even  this  name 
(Morimo)  however  would  seem  to  have  been  tampered  with 
in  the  course  of  the  long  ages  of  increasing  darknesft.  The 
word  has  two  plurals — one  of  which  means  not  gods^  bat 
spirits  of  the  dead  (manes).  But  how  does  it  appear  that  this 
latter  meaning  is  the  secondary  and  not  the  primary  one! 
Because  in  the  sense  of  spirits  of  ike  dead  (bartmo),  the  word 
has  no  singular;  whereas,  in  the  sense  of  Grod^  it  has  bodi 
the  singular  and  plural  forms.  In  Sechuana,  ba  is  the 
plural  prefix  and  particle  used  to  denote  people ;  00  is  its 
singular  form.     Now  it  is  correct  Sechuana  to  say,  Morimo 


REUGION  AND  POLITY.  395 

ba  ba  arabileng,  the  spirits  of  the  dead  who  have  answered; 
bat  there  is  no  singular  form  agreeing  to  this.  You  can- 
not say,  Morimo  eo  o  arabileng — the  spirit  of  the  dead  who 
has  answered.  The  only  particle  (o)  which  can  grammati- 
cally follow  Morimo  in  the  singular  has  no  reference  to 
human  beings ;  Morimo  o  o  arabileng — the  God  who  has 
answered.  Plural,  Merimo  e  e  arabileng — ^the  gods  who 
have  answered. 

What  lesson  does  Sechuana  grammar  here  teach  us  in 
theology  and  in  the  moral  history  of  the  Bechuanas  ?  Is 
it  that  men  have  been  ever  rising  in  knowledge  and  intel- 
ligence, and  that  thus  iarimo  is  a  higher  step  than  menmOy 
a  form  which  has  no  reference  to  human  beings  ?  There 
being  no  sex-distinctions  in  Sechuana,  the  grammar  does 
not  prove  so  much.  Jf^rimo  is  not  necessarily  lower 
than  ftarimo.  Or  is  Jarimo — spirits  of  the  dead — the 
afterthought  of  men  lapsing  into  greater  ignorance  of  the 
Divine  Being)  And  was  that  ignorance  caused  by  the 
dislike  of  parents  to  retain  God  in  their  own  knowledge, 
and  to  teach  their  children  concerning  Him ;  so  that  less 
^nd  less  was  spoken  of  Him,  more  and  more  about  priests 
and  spells,  during  the  long  weary  ages,  until  just  the  name 
for  God  remains  in  the  language — the  sole  remembrancer 
of  a  knowledge  higher  than  is  now  possessed  1  This  is  the 
explanation  given  by  the  Bechuanas  themselves: — "Our 
forefathers,  no  doubt,  knew  more  about  Morimo  than  we  do ; 
but  they  did  not  persevere  in  speaking  of  Him  to  their 
children."  But  the  grammar  leaves  this  an  open  question. 
What  it  would  seem  to  prove  is  that  Monmo  (God),  Menmo 
(Grods),  are  older  thoughts  in  the  Bechuana  mind  than 
5arimo  (spirits  of  the  dead).  The  readiness  of  the  Bechu- 
anas to  give  Morimo  as  an  equivalent  for  the  GU)d  of  the 
Bible  certainly  accords  best  with  the  view  that  they  thought 
of  MonmOy  Jferimo,  as  higher  and  not  lower  than  human 
beings. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  LEAVEN  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

The  Bechuanas  have  a  misleading  custom  of  feigning 
extreme  ignorance  when  conversing  with  some  white  men. 
Their  motive  is  perhaps  partly  to  pay  a  compliment  to 
their  instructor ;  partly,  and  perhaps  chiefly,  the  desire  to 
"  draw  him  out."  On  such  occasions  they  have  great  com- 
mand of  feature ;  nothing  shows  the  Englishman  engaged 
in  arguing  with  them  that  their  ignorance  and  stupidity 
are  assumed.  Those  who  adopt  least  of  a  hectoring  style 
with  the  natives  are  least  likely  to  be  deceived  in  this 
manner.  But  if  a  man  rushed  to  narrate  in  his  flrst  letter 
to  his  friends  in  England  the  impressions  produced  by  soch 
a  conversation,  he  would  be  likely  to  affirm  of  the  natives 
not  only  that  they  were  so  degraded  as  not  to  believe  in 
a  future  state,  but  also  so  ignorant  as  to  be  unable  to 
count  their  own  flocks  and  herds ;  and  so  stupid  as  to  be 
seized  with  a  violent  headache  whenever  they  tried  to 
think  1 

The  Rev.  John  Campbell,  who  was  the  first  missionary 
to  visit  a  Bechuana  town,  and  to  study  their  religious  and 
social  customs,  was  impressed  with  the  tenacity  widi 
which  they  clung  to  the  customs  of  their  forefathers ;  and 
expressed  the  opinion  that  "  their  *  caste'  feeling  was  per 
haps  no  less  strong  a  barrier  against  the  reception  of  tlw 
gospel  than  in  India."     At  Shoshong,  the  opposition  to  the 


THE  LEAVEN  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  397 

gospel  has  always  been  based  upon  this  feeling.  It  is  not 
that  the  people  cannot  comprehend  what  is  preached  to 
them,  but  that  they  prefer  the  customs  in  which  they 
have  been  brought  up.  Just  as  there  are  thousands  of 
professing  Christians  in  England  who  could  give  no  better 
reason  for  their  religious  belief  than  that  it  was  the  belief 
of  their  fathers,  so  Bechuanas  look  upon  their  customs 
with  reverence  for  the  same  reason — it  was  the  religion  of 
their  ancestors. 

"How  should  I  answer  to  Khari  if  I  changed  the 
customs  of  the  town  V*  said  Sekhome  to  me  on  one  occa- 
sion when  we  were  conversing  on  this  subject. 

My  argument  was,  "  How  are  you  to  know  that  Elhari 
would  not  have  changed  the  customs  himself,  if  the  Word 
of  God  had  come  in  his  time  1  You  say  you  will  live  and 
die  like  your  ancestors.  As  a  matter  of  fact  you  are  not 
doing  it.  You  have  changed  your  weapons  of  war ;  you 
ride  on  horses  and  shoot  with  guns.  Your  customs,  which 
you  say  are  inviolable,  you  have  already  broken.  Indeed 
it  is  impossible  for  you  to  live  and  die  like  your  ancestors. 
You  can  never  be  like  Khari ;  for  he  never  refused  the 
Word  of  God,  whereas  you  do  refuse  it  at  present.  From 
all  you  tell  me  of  Khari,  I  form  the  opinion  that  he  woidd 
have  probably  believed  the  Word  of  God  himself  if  it  had 
ever  been  made  known  to  him.  You  must  therefore  live 
your  own  life,  in  the  circumstances  in  which  God  has 
placed  you ;  and  not  seek  to  live  the  life  of  an  ancestor  to 
whom  these  circumstances  were  unknown." 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1864  we  were  able  to  begin 
two  district  schools,  as  well  as  to  carry  on  the  more 
advanced  classes  which  had  been  for  some  time  under 
instruction.  Mr.  Price  took  the  towns  lying  in  the  centre 
of  the  mountain  range,  meeting  in  the  courtyard  of  the 
Maownatlala.     He  was  assisted  by  Khamane,  the  second 


398  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

son  of  Sekhome,  and  two  or  three  others.  My  district  was 
to  the  west,  at  the  town  of  the  Mapaleng.  I  was  accom- 
panied by  Khame,  the  eldest  son  of  Sekhome,  and  by 
Mogomotsi,  his  uncle.  These  native  assistants  were  of 
service  in  introducing  us  to  the  people,  and  also  in  the 
practical  work  of  teaching.  The  chief  of  the  Mapaleng 
made  a  long  speech  when  we  requested  permission  to  teach 
the  children  in  his  town,  to  the  effect  that  "  he  himself 
was  too  old  to  learn ;  he  was  content  with  the  path  in 
which  his  father  had  placed  him ;  but  as  for  the  yoimg 
people,  they  might  all  be  taught.  Whoever  wished  to 
learn  himself,  or  to  have  his  children  instructed,  need  not 
be  afraid;  they  were  doing  no  harm;  the  learning  was 
good."  We  opened  this  school  with  some  thirty  scholars^ 
and  were  encouraged  by  the  progress  which  many  (rf 
the  children  made.  We  found  also  that  the  work  of  in- 
structing others  was  beneficial  to  our  more  advanced 
pupils. 

In  conducting  school  among  the  Bamangwato,  I  obserred 
a  great  difference  in  the  capacities  of  the  various  learners. 
Some  were  easily  taught,  being  able  to  understand  yoor 
meaning  at  once ;  others  were  slow  and  dull,  and  it  was 
as  if  a  mist  were  before  their  mental  vision.  These  last 
were  chiefly  grown-up  people.  I  came  to  the  condusion 
that  the  mental  ability  of  those  I  was  teaching  was  pro- 
bably as  great  as  in  a  village  school  in  a  country  distii<^ 
in  England.  Since  I  came  to  England  I  have  met  with 
the  following  remarks  from  gentlemen  better  able  to  judge 
than  myself,  having  had  different  races  in  one  scbod. 
The  Rev.  Henry  Calderwood,  whose  labours,  both  as  mis- 
sionary and  as  Civil  Commissioner  on  the  Kaffir  frontier, 
were  of  great  advantage  both  to  the  natives  and  to  his  own 
countrymen,  gives  the  following  opinion  on  the  subject : — 

"  I  have  often  observed  with  much  interest  the  progress 


THE  LEAVEN  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  399 

wliich  children  of  both  sexes  have  made  at  school ;  and  in 
equal  circumstances  the  Kaffir  or  Fingo  boy  is  quite  a  match 
for  a  respectable  youth  of  European  origin  in  the  acquisi- 
tion of  knowledge,  whether  classical  or  mechanical^  notwith- 
standing the  Saxon  superiority  in  energy  of  character."^ 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Wilson  of  Bombay,  at  present  Moderator 
of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland, 
kindly  furnishes  me  with  the  following  statement  as  to 
the  comparative  intellectual  endowments  of  Africans  and 
Asiatics : — 

**  Though  I  am  a  missionary  to  India,  I  have  had  much 
to  do  with  natives  of  the  shores  and  inner  countries  of 
Eastern  Africa,  from  Abyssinia,  south  to  Zengebar;  and 
I  must  say,  that  after  my  experiences  in  attempts  to 
instruct  and  educate  them  in  our  Bombay  mission,  I  have 
been  led  to  form  a  very  favourable  opinion  of  their  talents 
and  aptitude  to  learn.  In  those  respects  I  do  not  think 
them  inferior  to  the  average  specimens  of  the  Hindus.  I 
have  seen  individuals  of  them  at  the  top  of  some  of  our 
laigest  classes.  I  have  not  observed  in  them,  when  properly 
attended  to,  anything  of  the  fickleness,  x^price,  and  idle- 
ness often  laid  to  the  charge  of  the  negro  races ;  while  I 
have  felt  myself  bound  to  respect  their  common  sense, 
straightforwardness,  fidelity,  and  strength  of  affection. 
The  people  of  Africa,  when  christianized  and  civilized,  will 
be  found  to  occupy  a  respectable  position  in  the  scale  of 
Immanity." 

Dr.  Livingstone  also,  speaking  of  the  Bakwena,  says  : — 
**  They  might  be  called  stupid  in  matters  which  had  not 
come  within  the  sphere  of  their  observation ;  but  i»  other 
things  they  showed  more  intelligence  than  is  to  be  m^ 
with  in  our  own  uneducated  peasantry."' 

1  Caffres  and  Caffirt  Missions,  page  84. 
*  Misswnary  Travels,  p.  19. 


400  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

In  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  habits  of  animals,  the 
plants  and  trees  of  the  country,  the  political  history  of  the 
various  tribes,  the  casuistic  difficulties  as  to  relationship 
and  property  arising  out  of  polygamy — in  these  and  many 
such  questions  they  are  quite  at  home.     Bechuanas  have 
remarkably  retentive   memories,  owing  no  doubt  to  the 
fact,  that  having  no  written  language,  all  their  knowledge 
on  every  subject  must  be  either  treasured  in  the  memoiy 
or  lost.     Having  broken  up  into  many  separate  tribes, 
each  one  strong  enough  to  stand  alone  and  assert  its  in- 
dependence, these  South  African  clans  were  never  without 
their  feuds  and  raids.     And  the  chief  reason  for  Highland 
raids  was  also  the  moving  cause  of  of  South  African  forays 
— ^the  possession  of  cattle ;  with  occasionally  a  quarrel  on 
the  interesting  subject  of  the  marriage  or  the  marriage- 
portion  of  some  young  scion  of  a  chieftain's  family.    But 
while  Bechuanas  sometimes  fight  with  their  spears,  diey 
decidedly  prefer  to  do  so  with  their  tongues,  and  are  in- 
deed much  better  qualified  for  the  latter  warfure  than  for 
the  former.     And  so  diplomacy  played  a  prominent  part 
in  the  public  business  of  each  little  court,  without  letters 
and  without  a  secret  cipher.     Each  chief  had  usually  three 
or  four  confidential  officers  whom  he  employed  on  these 
public  and  sometimes  delicate  errands.     It  was  the  custom 
to  send  one  of  these  ambassadors  with  four  or  five  men  as 
an  escort.    Before  starting,  the  party  is  assembled  to  hear 
the  message   of  their  chief.     The  leader  of  the  expedi- 
tion  then   repeats   it;    and   should  he   hesitate,   one  <^ 
his  men  helps  him  with  the  word  or  thought.     They  noir 
start  on  a  journey  of  six  or  ten  or  more  days,  going  over 
the  message   once   or  twice   at  their  evening  fire,  and 
especially  reviving  it  in  their  minds  the  night  before  thar 
arrival  at  their  destination.     Next  morning  they  proceed 
into  the  public  courtyard,  and  salute  the  chief  in  the  name 


THE  LEAVEN  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  401 

of  their  master,  reciting  some  items  of  news  which  they 
deem  suitable  for  the  ears  of  the  public.  They  then  retire 
with  the  chief  into  the  private  court  of  the  latter,  osten- 
sibly for  the  purpose  of  drinking  beer,  but  in  reality  to 
deliver  their  message.-  At  other  times  the  message  will  be 
delivered  at  once  in  the  public  yard.  The  leader  of  the 
messengers  is  the  speaker.  He  proceeds  without  any 
break  in  his  story  till  he  comes  to  the  "  gist "  of  the  whole 
matter,  the  refusing  or  granting,  as  the  case  may  be ;  he  then 
pauses,  and,  turning  to  his  attendants,  demands,  '^  Am  I 
lying  1  does  not  our  chief  say  so  V*  "  You  speak  the  true 
words  of  our  master,"  say  all  the  attendants.  And  thus, 
without  writing,  the  message  is  faithfully  delivered ;  with- 
out attesting  signatures  to  a  document,  the  testimony  of 
four  or  five  men  is  presented  to  the  chief,  to  declare  that 
such  is  the  opinion  and  determination  of  his  neighbour. 
Missionaries  in  Bechuana-land  find  that  many  of  those  who 
listen  to  their  discourses  are  able  again  to  repeat  what  they 
hear — at  any  rate  to  give  all  the  ideas. 

According  to  a  principle  of  English  law,  the  person  on 
trial  is  not  bound  to  criminate  himself.  The  public  pro- 
secutor undertakes  to  prove  his  guilt.  But  this  principle 
is  not  carried  into  private  life.  In  an  English  family  the 
office  of  prosecutor  is  not  necessary ;  the  culprit  usually 
comes  forward  and  criminates  himself  at  the  &mily  tri- 
bunal, where  love  and  forgiveness  are  known  as  well  as 
punishment.  But  Bechuanas  take  the  very  fullest  advan- 
tage of  the  plea  of  Not  Guilty.  Their  power  of  personat- 
ing injured  innocence  is  wonderful  EquaUy  astounding  is 
the  coolness  with  which,  when  the  process  of  proof  is  com- 
plete, the  air  of  injured  innocence  is  at  once  thrown  off, 
with  the  remark,  "Ah,  now  he  has  beaten  me;  I  have 
nothing  more  to  say."  It  is  a  principle  among  Be- 
chuanas that  a  fault  is  never  to  be  confessed.     It  seems  to 

2C 


402  NOKTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

these  shrewd  heathen  the  height  of  absurdity  for  a  man  to 
confess,  and,  giving  up  all  chance  of  escape,  become  his 
own  accuser.     Therefore  in  private  and  social  life  "Not 
Guilty"  is  always  the  Bechuana's  plea;  and  he  will  stick 
to  it,  unless  you  can  prove  his  guilt.     Once  a  cook  was  in 
the  habit  of  stealing  my  maize,  and  canying  it  home  to 
the  town.     I  several  times  nearly  detected  him ;  but  £uled 
to  catch  him  just  in  the  act.     He  knew  that  I  was  aware 
of  his  guilt ;  but  his  parents  at  home  pressed  him  to  steal, 
and  he  continued  to  risk  all  consequences.     Afraid  that 
my  maize  should  have  all  disappeared  before  I  could  bring 
the  theft  home  to  such  a  clever  fellow,  I  called  him  one 
day,  and,  giving  him  his  wages,  dismissed  him  without 
saying  a  word  about  the  theft  which  I  could  not  prove. 
The  first  thing  a  native  demands,  when  you  charge  him 
with  a  fault,  is  "Who  saw  mel"  or  "Who  told  youT 
Kelated  to  this  phase  in  their  character  is  their  great  dis- 
inclination to  inform  on  one  another.     Suspicious  and  jea- 
lous of  each  other,  dreading  evil-eye,  charms,  etc.,  they  are 
unwilling  to  make  to  themselves  enemies ;  and  therefore 
give  information  which  will  criminate  others  with  great 
reluctance.     For  this  reason,  a  chief,  in  the  conduct  of 
public  affairs,  has  to  resort  to  many  a  scheme  to  collect 
evidence  of  which  he  can  avail  himself  in  public.      But 
when  matters  become  desperate,  when  a  side  in  a  diGfrate 
must  be  taken,  then  the  people  will  make  a  virtue  ci 
necessity,  and  secretly  volunteer  information  to  damage 
those  against  whom  they  have  arrayed  themselves. 

The  bearing  of  this  trait  of  character  on  the  work  d 
the  missionary  is  obvious.  Church-discipline  can  only  be 
exercised  upon  information  duly  attested.  The  people  as 
a  rule  do  not  entirely  overcome  their  reluctance  to  ffre 
evidence  against  otherS)  even  in  the  Christian  Church ;  nor 
are  the  church-members,  as  a  rule,  distinguished  for  the 


THE  LEATEN  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  403 

readiness  and  fulness  of  their  confessions  of  wrong-doing, 
until  evidence  is  duly  produced  against  them. 

In  summer,  the  houses  of  the  natives,  and  the  hedges 
round  them,  are  covered  over  with  climbing  gourds  or 
calabash  plants.  Maize,  sugar-cane,  and  pumpkins  also  grow 
in  every  available  comer  round  the  houses.  When  viewed 
from  the  adjoining  mountain,  the  town  thus  clothed  in 
green  ia  reaUy  beautiful.  But  however  charming  in  the 
distance,  it  is  not  at  all  pleasant  to  thread  those  narrow, 
winding,  and  gourd-shaded  lanes.  When  daUy  returning 
from  school  soon  after  noon,  I  found  the  atmosphere  of  the 
town  to  be  quite  oppressive,  and  constantly  wondered  that 
cases  of  fever  were  not  even  more  numerous.  Early  in 
1865, 1  had  an  attack  of  African  fever,  no  doubt  induced 
by  constant  exposure  to  this  miasma.  I  had  recourse  to 
gtrong  measures,  dosing  myself  at  once  with  Livingstone's 
prescription,  and  was  only  a  few  days  an  invalid.  I  have 
elsewhere  described  some  of  the  symptoms  of  this  disease. 

About  this  time  a  Matebele  soldier  made  his  appearance 
at  Sekhome's  as  a  refugee,  being  accompanied  by  one  of 
those  women  who  occupy  the  station  of  "wives  of  the 
chief"  in  the  country  of  the  Matebele.  The  man  was  well 
received  by  Sekhome,  and  a  place  appointed  for  him 
in  the  town.  Every  day,  however,  he  came  to  my 
house,  ostensibly  because  he  had  known  me  in  his 
own  country.  But  I  soon  learned  from  him  the  true 
cause  of  his  coming  so  often :  he  was  afraid  of  being 
put  to  death  by  the  Bamangwato,  but  thought  he  would 
be  safe  as  long  as  he  was  on  my  premises.  I  did 
my  best  to  assure  him  that  he  was  in  no  danger.  By  and 
bye  I  missed  the  tall  handsome  soldier  from  his  usual  place 
in  my  yard;  and  in  a  few  days  I  learned  that  he  had 
hanged  himself.  He  laboured  under  the  disadvantage' of 
not  understanding  Sechuana ;  and  his  fears  coloured  every 


] 


404  NOKTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

gesture  and  look  of  the  Bamangwato.  One  night  he  stole 
away  from  Shoshong  with  the  woman  who  mig^t  be  called 
his  wife,  and  who  had  given  up  a  position  of  distinction 
and  of  ease  for  his  sake.  They  endeavoured  to  find  their 
way  to  another  town ;  but  their  courage  seemed  to  &jI 
them,  and  for  some  days  they  lived  secreted  in  the  moun- 
tain called  Marutlwe,  about  three  miles  to  the  south  of 
Shoshong.  At  length  the  man  proposed  that  they  should 
terminate  their  sufferings  by  death.  "  The  Bamangwato,*' 
he  said,  ^  will  kill  us  both ;  they  will  torture  and  insult 
us  :  let  us  rather  die  by  our  own  hands.  We  escaped  the 
anger  of  Moselekatse  only  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  those 
who  hate  us."  His  plan  was  to  kill  the  woman  first  and 
then  take  his  own  Ufa  But  the  woman  was  not  so 
despairing  as  the  soldier,  whose  mind  would  seem  to  hare 
been  affected  by  the  constant  pressure  of  anxiety,  and  she 
evidently  had  no  desire  to  follow  her  lover  in  his  present 
course.  She  succeeded  in  calming  his  mind,  and  secured 
also  his  consent  to  her  returning  to  the  town,  for  the 
purpose  of  ascertaining  from  Sekhome  himself  whether  <a 
not  their  lives  were  in  danger.  Accordingly  the  woman 
made  her  appearance  before  Sekhome,  who  told  her  to 
return  and  bring  her  husband  home  at  once,  assuring  her 
that  their  fears  were  entirely  groundless.  But  when  the 
poor  woman,  now  the  bearer  of  joyous  intelligenoe,  again 
reached  their  place  of  concealment,  she  found  that  the 
soldier  had  already  taken  his  fate  into  his  own  hands,  and 
had  hanged  himself  with  a  thong  from  a  tree. 

In  the  end  of  1864  our  peaceful  labours  were  disturbed 
by  news  of  an  inroad  from  an  imexpected  quarter.  One  of 
Sekhome's  Bakalahari  had  come  across  the  track  of  a  laige 
number  of  men  accompanied  by  horsemen,  but  with  no 
waggons,  and  avoiding  all  public  paths.  The  suspicions  of 
the  vassal  were  at  once  excited,  and  instead  of  proceeding 


THE  LEAVEN  OF  THE  GOSPEL.         405 

on  his  hunt,  he  hastened  back  to  give  warning  to  his 
family,  and  to  the  members  of  the  little  village.  Taking 
with  him  a  companion,  he  then  returned  and  followed  on 
the  track  till  sunset,  when  they  stealthily  approached  the 
bivouac  to  inspect  more  narrowly  its  leaders  and  members. 
They  found  it  was  a  war-party  of  Bakwena  under  Khosi- 
lintsi,  the  brother  of  Sechele,  and  Sebele,  the  eldest  son  of 
that  chief.  So  close  had  the  Bakalahari  gone  that  they 
were  able  to  repeat  part  of  the  conversation  of  the  Ba- 
kwena at  their  camp-fire.  Some  preparations  were  made  by 
Sekhome,  but  in  a  very  different  spirit  from  what  was 
shown  when  he  anticipated  an  invasion  of  Matebele.  Not 
a  woman  left  the  town ;  they  said  they  had  nothing  to  fear 
firom  Bakwena;  it  was  only  Matebele  who  killed  women 
and  children.  The  night  after  the  notice  had  been  given 
to  Sekhome,  the  Bakwena  approached  Shoshong,  sleeping 
about  three  miles  from  the  town,  and  near  to  the  moun- 
tain called  Libobe.  Before  daylight  they  commenced  their 
march,  making  for  the  mountain  range  so  as  to  be  able  to 
command  the  town.  But  the  Bamangwato  were  waiting 
for  them,  and  easily  drove  them  back.  Accompanied  by  Mr. 
Price  and  two  Englishmen,  I  climbed  this  range  from  the 
other  side,  and  found  we  were  just  in  time  to  see  with  our 
glasses  Sechele*s  '^  braves  "  retreat  in  confusion.  They  had 
calculated  on  being  able  to  gain  the  vantage-ground  of  the 
mountain ;  but  certainly  the  manner  in  which  they  retreated 
seemed  to  show  that  the  place  must  be  very  strong  indeed 
in  which  they  would  venture  to  fight.  Sekhome's  sons 
gave  orders  to  their  men  to  is^vance  and  cut  off  the  retreat 
of  the  Bakwena;  but  their  father  countermanded  this 
order,  and  the  Bakwena  were  allowed  to  return  home  un- 
molested, with  a  few  cattle,  which  they  managed  to  collect 
in  the  district  through  which  they  passed.  Sechele  had 
made  the  raid  professedly  to  indemnify  himself  for  losses 


406  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

and  insults  inflicted  on  him  and  his  people  by  Sekhome, 
especiallj  by  the  party  of  "baloi"  or  wizards  whom 
Sekhome  had  sent  to  wither  up  the  corn-fields  of  tiie 
Bakwena.  It  was  evidently  not  Sekhome's  interest  to 
have  a  quarrel  with  the  Bakwena  at  this  time,  wlule 
expecting  another  visit  from  the  soldiers  of  Moselekatse. 

One  night  a  report  came  to  Shoshong  that  the  Matebde 
were  advancing  to  retake  the  cattle  which  Sekhome  had 
lifted  from  their  posts.  It  turned  out  to  be  an  onfooiided 
rumour,  but  while  it  lasted  it  caused  great  uneasinefis. 
The  Bamangwato  were  aware  that  the  cattle  which  thej 
had  taken  two  years  before  had  been  followed  for  some 
distance  by  a  party  of  Matebele,  who,  when  they  found  that 
they  had  taken  the  way  to  Sekhome's,  placed  branches  of 
trees  on  the  track,  and  went  through  certain  ceremonies,  in 
course  of  which  they  pledged  themselves  to  come  back  and 
take  up  the  '^ spoor"  at  another  time,  and  follow  it  to 
Shoshong.  The  Bamangwato  now  expected  a  fulfilment  of 
this  vow,  so  that  when  Sekhome  came  to  me  to  announce 
their  rumoured  approach,  nothing  could  have  been  more 
likely.  ^  I  am  resolved  to  die  rather  than  succumb  to  the 
Matebele,"  said  the  chief;  ''but  if  I  thought  the  Boers 
(Dutchmen  of  the  Transvaal)  would  assist  me  for  a  certain 
number  of  cattle,  I  should  be  willing  to  pay  the  cattle.  I 
have  already  laid  them  under  obligation,  having  spared  the 
lives  of  those  hunters  whom  Sechele  urged  me  to  kill,  after 
the  Dutch. had  destroyed  the  town  of  the  Bakwena.  I 
spared  their  lives,  and  sent  Tshukuru  into  their  own 
country  with  their  waggons  and  property,  which  ibfff 
deserted  in  their  fear.  But  I  hear  from  the  Bakone  thai 
Dutchmen  have  no  gratitude ;  and  I  am  afiraid  that  if  I 
called  them  to  assist  me,  they  would  afterwards  reckon  me 
a  mere  Mokalahari  (vassal),  make  me  pay  tribute,  and 
eventually  possess  themselves  of  ,my  land.     I  am  in  diffi- 


THE  LEAVEN  OF  THE  GOSPEL.         407 

culties,  Monare,  and  you  must  try  and  help  me."  Fortu- 
nately the  danger  passed  over  without  Sekhome  having 
become  the  tributary  of  Dutchmen  or  Matebele. 

About  this  time  I  had  frequent  visits  from  Sekhome. 
On  these  occasions  he  had  no  attendant.  Rising  from 
the  public  yard  after  dusk,  he  withdrew  first  to  his 
mother's  premises,  and  then  by  a  private  gateway  found 
his  way  to  my  house.  During  these  interviews  the  subject 
of  Christianity  was  sometimes  brought  before  his  notice ; 
and  I  found  that  this  man  with  the  sinister  face,  who 
was  the  greatest  sorcerer  in  Bechuana-land,  who  was 
hated  by  many  and  mistrusted  by  all  his  neighbours, 
had  a  keen  appreciation  of  the  character  and  the  object  of 
the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  referred  more  than  once  to 
an  Englishman,  not  a  missionary,  who  had  long  before 
taken  pains  to  explain  to  him  the  doctrines  of  Grod's  Word, 
He  had  often  heard  preaching  since,  but  Sekhome's  mind 
continued  to  be  most  impressed  with  the  view  of  our 
religion  which  he  had  first  heard  as  a  novelty  from  his 
early  instructor.  I  could  never  find  out  who  this  traveller 
was  who  explained  Christianity  to  the  Bechuana  chief. 
Sekhome  never  failed  to  mention  that  he  was  not  a  mis- 
sionary. There  would  seem  to  be  the  same  feeling  among 
the  Bechuanas  as  amongst  Englishmen,  that  preaching  is 
to  be  expected  from  a  minister,  as  it  is  his  proper  work. 
Hence  the  store  set  on  the  kindly  explanations  or  good 
counsel  tendered  by  a  passing  layman.  Sekhome  indeed 
had  not  forgotten  this  person's  name,  but  it  was  not  recog^ 
nisable  to  me  as  he  pronounced  it.  But  it  is  likely  that 
his  story  of  the  gospel  will  remain  in  this  chiefs  mind  as 
long  as  he  lives.  Would  to  Gk)d  there  were  many  travellers 
and  hunters  of  this  kind  ! 

^  It  19  all  very  good  for  you  white  men  to  follow  the 
Word  of  God,"  Sekhome  more  than  once  said.     "(Jod 


408  NORTH  OF  THE  ORAKGE  RIVER. 

made  you  with  straight  hearts  like  this," — ^holding  out  his 
finger  straight ;  ^  but  it  is  a  veiy  different  thing  with  us  black 
people.  Grod  made  us  with  a  crooked  heart  like  this," — 
holding  out  his  bent  finger.  ^'Now,  suppose  a  black  man  teUs 
a  story,  he  goes  round  and  round,  so/' — drawing  a  number 
of  circles  on  the  floor ;  "  but  when  you  open  your  mouth 
your  tale  proceeds  like  a  straight  line,  so/' — drawing  a 
vigorous  stroke  through  all  the  circles  he  had  previously 
made.  ^'No,  do  not  oppose  me;  I  know  I  am  right 
Your  heart  is  white  from  your  birth ;  the  hearts  of  all 
black  people  are  black  and  bad." 

"  Nay,  Sekhome,  you  are  completely  wrong.  We  have 
all  bad  hearts.  There  may  be  worse  thoughts  in  some 
than  in  others ;  there  are  bad  thoughts  in  aH  Those  who 
turn  to  Grod  and  often  think  of  Him  and  of  His  words, 
get  a  new  heart  and  better  thoughts." 

"  Not  black  people/'  he  interrupted ;  "  and  yet " — after  a 
pause — "  and  yet,  after  all,  Ehame's  heart  is  perhaps  right 
Yes/' — after  another  pause — "  Ehame's  heart  is  ri^t" 

I  was  glad  that  he  had  this  opinion  of  his  eldest  son.  I 
now  reminded  him  that  all  white  people  were  not  alike — 
that  he  himself  knew  the  difference  between  them  was  often 
very  great.  "  There  is  F —  now,"  I  said,  mentioning  the 
name  of  a  young  lad  of  English  parentage  who  had  grown 
up  among  the  natives  in  Bechuana-land,  ^what  kind  of 
heart  has  he  got  1  is  his  a  white  or  a  black  man's  heart  t 
You  know  he  prefers  the  company  of  black  people  to  that 
of  white  men,  and  he  can  speak  Sechuana  a  great  deal 
better  than  English.  Of  what  value  to  him  is  the  colour 
of  his  skin  1  He  was  brought  up  as  a  Bechuana,  and  yoo 
know  the  people's  nickname  for  him  goes  to  show  that  they 
think  of  him  as  one  of  themselves." 

"  Yes,  F —  is  one  of  us/'  said  Sekhome ;  "  I  can't  deny 
that" 


THE  LEAVEN  OF  THE  GOSPEL.  409 

"  Well,"  I  said,  "  but  if  he  would  change  to-morrow- 


give  up  his  associates  in  the  town — open  his  heart,  like 
Ehame,  to  the  teaching  of  God's  Word — ^leam  to  read  and 
to  write— in  a  few  years  no  one  would  think  of  him  as  he 
does  now.  It  would  just  be  as  difficult  for  him  to  do  this 
as  for  a  black  man,  but  not  more  so ;  inasmuch  as  he  has 
received  a  black  man's  bringing  up,  having  gone  about  in 
youth  a  naked  Berd-boy  with  Bechuana  boys  of  his  own 
age,  and  having  also  acted  as  the  leader  of  his  native 
master's  oxen  when  travelling  with  his  waggon. — Sekhome, 
why  shouldn't  you  'enter  the  Word  of  Grod'l"  I  added 
suddenly. 

**Monare,"  said  the  chief,  rising  to  leave,  "you  don't 
know  what  you  say.  The  Word  of  God  is  far  from  me. 
When  I  think  of  *  entering  the  Word  of  God,*  I  can  com- 
pare it  to  nothing  except  going  out  to  the  plain  and  meet- 
ing single-handed  all  the  forces  of  the  Matebele !  That 
is  what  it  would  be  for  me  now  to  *  enter  the  Word  of 
God.' " 

Poor  Sekhome!  Such  was  his  own  estimate  of  his 
position,  surrounded  by  the  thralls  of  priestcraft  and 
polygamy ;  but,  above  all,  misled  by  his  own  darkened 
and  wayward  heart ! 


CHAPTER   XXL 

THE     TRIAL     OF     FAITH. 

Polygamy  is  sanctioned  bj  the  traditional  customs  of 
the  Bechuanas.  Practically  a  plurality  of  wives  &Ub  only 
to  the  lot  of  chiefs  and  head  men.  The  common  fremien 
of  the  town  have  seldom  two  wives.  The  head  men  have 
usually  from  three  to  six,  according  to  their  wealth  and 
social  standing.  Sekhome  had  twelve  wives.  Their  houses 
were  in  a  semicircular  row  fronting  the  court-yard  iji  the 
town.  The  chief  did  not  reside  with  any  of  his  "  partners 
in  life,"  but  in  his  mother's  house,  which  stood  in  the  middle 
of  the  row.  His  personal  property  was  stored  in  his 
mother's  premises.  It  will  not  be  necessary  to  enter  into 
the  domestic  arrangements  of  such  a  £Eunily.  But  it  is 
necessary  to  the  perspicuity  of  our  narrative .  to  point  oat 
that  this  system  not  only  destroys  all  familyaffectioUybut  sor^ 
rounds  the  chief  with  never-ceasing  complaints  and  jealousies. 
A  certain  provision  in  servants  and  cattle  is  made  for  each 
wife  by  the  chief  when  he  takes  her  home.  In  retnni, 
she  furnishes  every  year  a  certain  quantity  of  com  for  the 
chiefs  use.  The  division  of  the  town  out  of  which  each 
wife  comes  is  always  ready  to  advocate  the  cause  of  its 
representative  in  the  harem,  and  that  of  her  oflBspring.  The 
gifts  of  the  chief  in  cattle  or  karosses  or  beads  to  one  wife 
are  jealously  watched  by  the  others,  as  are  also  his  presents 
of  horses  or  clothing  or  guns  to  any  one  of  his  sons.    In 


THE  TRIAL  OF  FAITH.  411 

early  childhood  nothing  divides  the  children  of  the  chief; 
but  as  they  grow  up  they  learn  to  regard  one  another  as 
rivals  for  the  chiefs  favour.  They  learn  to  espouse  the  side 
of  their  mother,  and  the  views  of  the  division  of  the  town 
to  which  she  belongs.  Those  whose  birth  places  them  in 
the  first  rank  are  the  objects  of  malicious  whisperings  and 
half-expressed  accusations  to  the  chief.  Those  who  are  of 
inferior  birth  are  accused  of  plotting,  whether  guilty  or  not. 
But  while  all  this  is  going  on,  great  outward  propriety 
and  etiquette  are  observed.  The  jealous  wives  daily  greet 
each  other  with  smiles,  calling  one  another  "  mother  "  with 
apparent  affection.  The  children  vie  with  one  another  in 
outward  demonstrations  of  respect  to  their  father  and  to  all 
his  wives.  A  stranger  might  imagine  from  a  single  inspec- 
tion that  he  never  saw  such  a  "happy  family;"  but  this 
system  is  nevertheless  the  fruitful  source  of  most  of  the 
internal  strifes,  often  attended  by  bloodshed,  which  charac- 
terize the  ordinary  life  of  a  Bechuana  community. 

The  ceremony  of  "  boguera  "  (circumcision)  was  adminis- 
tered at  Shoshong  in  April  1865.  Each  head  man  mustered 
his  retainers,  and,  surrounded  by  his  own  sons  and  near 
relatives,  marched  daily  to  the  camp  of  the  neophytes. 
Proud  is  the  Bechuana  father  who  is  surrounded  by  a  num- 
ber of  sons  on  these  occasions.  There  is  an  honour  con- 
nected with  this  which  no  distinction  of  rank  can  supply. 
Sekhome's  mortification  was  therefore  very  great  when  he 
found  himself  marching  to  the  camp  alone — ^not  one  of  his 
five  eldest  sons  accompanying  him.  They  were  all  at  our 
school  instead,  and  every  Sunday  they  were  in  their  places 
at  church.  They  themselves  resolved  that  they  would  not 
go  to  this  heathen  ceremony.  Here  began  a  period  of  trouble 
for  our  mission.  Sekhome,  in  inviting  missionaries  to  his 
town,  had  evidently  not  anticipated  opposition  of  this  kind. 
He  had  hoped  to  be  able  to  regulate  all  matters  connected 


412  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

with  the  Word  of  God  in  his  town  as  he  exercised  control 
over  everything  else.     To  a  certain  point  it  might  advance, 
but  no  further.     So  when  he  found  himself  deserted  by  his 
sons  on  this  public  occasion,  he  was  deeply  offended,  and 
threatened  extreme  measures  if  they  did  not  at  once  yield 
obedience  to  him.     Failing  to  overcome  them  by  threats, 
he  next  proceeded  to  work  upon  their  feelings  in  private. 
He  is  said  to  have  shed  tears  in  presence  of  some  of  his 
sons,  when  expostulating  with  them  on  their  desertion  of 
him   and  of  the  old  tribal  customs.     He  was   successful 
in   winning  over  two  of  his  sons.      But  promises  and 
threats  were  alike  unavailing  with  the  other  three.     Even 
when  he  declared  he  would  disinherit  them,  they  continued 
faithful.     After  a  time  Sekhome  publicly  annoimced  that 
it  was  his  intention  to  give  all  his  property,  and  in  the 
end  the  chieftainship,  to  those  sons  who  had  obeyed  him. 
He  at  once  presented  them  with  valuable  articles  of  Euro- 
pean manufacture,  such  as  guns,  saddles,  clothing,  etc    He 
forbade  the  Bamangwato  to  follow  the  disobedient  sons ; 
and  told  them  that  those  who  had  gone  to  the  ^boguera'' 
were  alone  to  be  regarded  as  his  children.     As  to  the  Word 
of  God,  it  was  bad,  seeing  it  led  to  disobedience  on  Uie 
part  of  children  to  their  parents ;  and  whoever  attended 
church  or  school  might  henceforth  look  upon  Sekhome  as  his 
personal  enemy.     This  opposition  had  an  immediate  effect 
upon  the  number  of  those  who  sought  instruction  in  ChrB- 
tianity  ;  only  those  came  who  resolved  to  brave  the  wrati 
of  the  chief,  and  occasionally  some  of  their  vassals  and 
attendants.     On  Monday  the  chief  would  seek  out  some 
one  who  was  perhaps  halting  between  two  opinions;,  and 
who  had   been  seen   attending   church   on   the    Sunday. 
Taking  him  aside,  Sekhome  would  ply  him  with  thieals  oi 
vengeance.     As  he  exercised  the  office  of  priest  as  weE  as 
chief^  he  professed  to  be  able  and  determined  complete^  to 


THE  TRUL  OF  FAITH.  413 

blast  and  ruin  the  man  unless  he  gave  up  attending  church 
and  school.  Knowing  also  the  individual  character  of 
most  of  the  people,  he  was  able  to  attack  them  at  their 
weak  point.  One  was  fond  of  his  flocks  and  herds :  he 
threatened  him  with  the  immediate  confiscation  of  his  pro- 
perty. Another  was  peculiarly  open  to  superstitious  fears  : 
him  he  vowed  so  to  bewitch  and  encompass  with  the 
spells  of  necromancy,  that  his  property  would  be  destroyed, 
his  name  blasted,  and  the  affections  of  even  his  nearest 
relatives  alienated  from  him.  For  more  than  twelve 
months  the  mission  made  no  progress  whatever,  except, 
indeed,  in  the  development  of  character  among  those  who 
took,  perhaps  not  joyfully,  but  resignedly,  "  the  spoiling  of 
their  goods  "  for  Christ's  sake.  Those  who  after  all  his 
efforts  still  continued  to  attend  our  services  became  marked 
men ;  and  in  their  steadfastness  the  Bamangwato,  as  well 
as  ourselves,  understood  by  a  fresh  illustration  the  power 
of  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

It  was  under  such  circumstances  that  I  resolved  to  build 
a  better  dwelling-house  than  the  wattle-and-daub  hut  in 
which  I  had  hitherto  dwelt.  I  had  to  begin  at  the  begin- 
ning, and  make  the  moulds  for  the  bricks.  Brick-making 
was  then  proceeded  with.  I  next  went  to  the  forest  with 
a  party  of  men,  and  felled  timber,  which  we  conveyed  to 
Shoshong  to  be  dressed  there.  The  stone  foundation  of 
the  house  was  laid  by  myself,  and  I  had  begun  with  the 
bricks,  laying  them  down  according  to  a  scheme  which  I 
found  in  a  book  on  the  mechanical  arts,  when  a  bricklayer 
w^ho  had  recently  begun  trading  in  ivory  and  feathers  arrived 
at  the  station.  I  got  several  lessons  from  him  on  the 
practical  detail  of  bricklaying,  which  I  did  not  find  in 
the  book ;  and  he  was  also  kind  enough  to  raise  the  wall  a 
considerable  height  before  he  left.  I  was  equally  fortunate 
in  obtaining  assistance  in  the  making  of  doors  and  window- 


414  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

sashes  from  English  traders,  who  were  on  the  station  at 
the  time.  Before  I  entered  the  new  house  at  the  end  of 
the  year,  I  made  the  following  entry  in  my  note-book : — 
'^  Have  to  record  that  for  many  months  I  cannot  remember 
having  been  seated  for  half  an  hour  during  the  day  with 
either  book  or  newspaper.  Continually  at  out-door  work." 
Indeed,  during  all  the  period  of  our  life  at  Shoshong  read- 
ing and  correspondence  were  seldom  overtaken  during  the 
day,  but  carried  on  in  the  silence  of  night.  Although 
without  European  society,  we  never  felt  lonely,  for  oar 
hands  were  constantly  filled  with  one  engagement  after 
another. 

Up  to  this  time  Sekhome  had  shown  friendship  and 
respect  towards  the  missionaries.  But  if  the  teaching  was 
bad  the  teachers  could  not  be  good.  If  he  quarreUed  with 
the  scholars  and  with  the  doctrines  taught,  he  could  not 
remain  on  friendly  terms  with  their  teachers.  He  had 
nothing  against  either  Mr.  Price  or  myself.  A  chaige  most 
therefore  be  concocted.  Accordingly  he  first  quarrdled 
with  Mr.  Price,  and  afterwards  with  me.  When  I  began 
house-building  I  had  hired  four  men  from  Sekhome,  who 
were  to  obtain  payment  of  a  heifer  each  for  a  yearns  service: 
When  this  period  had  half  expired,  Sekhome  demanded 
their  wages.  It  was  evident  that  he  sought  occasion  against 
us,  and  as  I  could  not  hope  to  have  a  better  case  at  a  fotore 
time,  I  resolved  to  refuse  his  glaringly  unjust  demand.  I 
reminded  him  of  our  public  engagement,  and  mentioned 
the  names  of  head  men  who  were  witnesses  of  the  transac- 
tion, desiring  them  to  be  called  to  support  my  statement 
I  said  I  was  resolved  to  be  his  friend,  and  to  fulfil  my 
word  in  all  things.  It  was  for  him  also  to  stick  to  his 
engagement.  But  the  chief  doggedly  reiterated  his  demand, 
and  then  left  me  in  a  passion,  declaring  I  should  know  that 
the  anger  of  Sekhome  was  not  a  trifle.     In  this  he  was 


THE  TRIAL  OF  FAITH.  415 

quite  right.  He  succeeded  in  annoying  me  very  much, 
especially  by  removing  all  our  servants,  so  that  we  had  no 
one  left  to  assist  us  belonging  to  the  Bamangwato.  They 
were  forbidden  to  serve  us  in  anything,  even  to  draw  water 
for  us  from  the  river.  But  about  this  time  a  young 
Makalaka  lad,  who  had  known  me  in  the  Matebele  country, 
came  out  of  his  own  accord  to  Shoshong,  and  placed  him- 
self in  my  hands.  Then  some  Englishmen,  who  were  going 
to  hunt  in  Moselekatse's  country  foimd  that  they  could  not 
take  Zulus  thither  on  account  of  the  jealousy  still  existing 
between  Moselekatse  and  the  tribes  from  which  he  separated. 
Two  Zulu  men  were  therefore  left  with  me  by  these  sports- 
men,  so  that  after  a  time  I  was  not  dependent  upon  Se- 
khome's  assistance. 

In  the  course  of  the  strife  between  Sekhome  and  the 
small  Christian  party  in  the  town,  which  was  headed  by 
his  own  two  eldest  sons,  every  occasion  was  sought  against 
the  believers,  but  in  vain.  There  was  positively  nothing 
of  which  they  could  be  accused.  It  was  only  in  this 
matter  pertaining  to  the  service  of  God  in  which  the  chief 
could  find  ground  of  complaint.  The  bulk  of  the  people 
were  fond  of  the  two  young  chiefs,  and  showed  their 
respect  and  regard  in  mauy  ways.  But  the  head  men  in 
the  town  were  bitterly  set  against  them,  although  not  for 
the  same  reason  which  animated  Sekhome.  Khame  and 
Khamane  had  married  sisters,  the  daughters  of  Tshukuru, 
the  chief  who  was  next  in  rank  to  Sekhome.  The  ground 
of  the  complaint  of  the  head  men  was  that  this  Tshukuru 
was  thus  raised  to  pre-eminent  rank  in  the  town,  inasmuch 
as  the  young  chiefs,  being  Christians,  would  not  "  add  to '' 
the  number  of  their  wives,  according  to  heathen  custom, 
80  as  to  elevate  several  other  families  to  this  intimate  con- 
nection with  that  of  the  chief  Hostility  to  Tshukuru 
was  tlierefore  gradually  introduced  into  the  quarrel  by 


416  NORTH  OF  THE  ORAKGE  BIVER. 

Sekhome  and  his  coadjutors,  and  allowed  to  mingle  with 
and  strengthen  the  opposition  which  arose  from  Uieir 
hostility  to  the  Word  of  Grod.  At  this  juncture  it  was 
brought  to  the  remembrance  of  Sekhome  that  some  years 
before  he  had  negotiated  a  marriage  for  Khame,  his  eldest 
son,  with  the  daughter  of  Pelutona,  one  of  the  head  men,  a 
famous  sorcerer,  and  a  great  favourite  with  the  chief.  The 
cattle  had  been  paid  for  this  young  woman  by  Sekhome, 
and  the  marriage  was  thus  ratified  according  to  Bechuana 
custom ;  but  Khame  had  never  given  his  consent  to  the 
match  at  all,  and  at  last  prevailed  upon  his  £E^her  to 
break  it  off.  The  cattle  were  never  returned,  however,  to 
Sekhome,  and  it  was  now  thought  by  the  heathen  party 
that  they  had  here  a  suitable  cause  for  quarrel  They  said 
to  Sekhome  that  as  the  cattle  had  been  paid  for  Pelutona's 
daughter  she  was  Khame's  wife,  and  Sekhome  must  show 
his  zeal  for  the  customs,  and  his  power  over  his  son,  by 
compelling  him  to  take  this  woman  to  his  house  as  his 
head  wife,  and  to  place  his  present  one,  the  daughter  of 
Tshukuru,  whom  he  had  married  ^  after  the  customs  of  the 
Word  of  God,"  in  a  subordinate  position.  Sekhome  was 
willing  to  take  up  this  ground,  because  it  secured  him 
increased  support.  Instead  therefore  of  sajdng  to  his  son 
as  before,  ^Give  up  going  to  church  and  to  school,'* 
Sekhome  now  added  the  command  to  take  home  his  proper 
wife,  and  to  put  Mabese,  his  present  wife,  into  the  podtion 
of  an  inferior  wife.  Ehame's  answer  was  a  respectful  and 
straightforward  refusal :  '*  I  refuse  on  accoimt  of  the  Word 
of  God  to  take  a  second  wife ;  but  you  know  that  I  was 
always  averse  to  this  woman,  having  declined  to  recem 
her  from  you  as  my  wife  before  I  became  a  Christiaa.  I 
thought  you  had  given  up  the  match.  I  understood  joa 
to  say,  before  your  mind  was  poisoned  against  me,  that 
you  were  pleased  with  my  present  wife.     Lay  the  hardest 


THE  TRIAL  OF  FAITH.  417 

task  upon  me  with  reference  to  hunting  elephants  for  ivory, 

or  any  service  you  can  think  of  as  a  token  of  my  obedience, 

but  I  cannot  take  the  daughter  of  Pelutona  to  wife."    This 

was  the  answer  which  the  head  men  had  expected,  and 

which  they  desired,  for  their  grudge  was  not  so  much 

against  Khame  as  against  Tshukuru.     They  said  therefore 

to  Sekhome  that  it  was  evident  that  the  father-in-law  of 

his  sons  was  poisoning  their  minds ;  and  that  he  no  doubt 

intended  to  kill  Sekhome,  and  then,  through  his  sons-in-law, 

obtain  supreme  power  in  the  town.     They  advised  that 

Tshukuru  should  first  be  put  to  death,  otherwise  he  would 

kiU  the  chief.     Now  there  is  no  doubt  that  Tshukuru  was 

very  proud  of  his  sons-in-law,  and  especially  pleased  that  they 

were  Christians — not  because  he  believed  in  Jesus  Christ, 

but  because  through  the  Word  of  God  his  daughters  would 

have  no  rivak  as  wives  of  the  young  chiefs,  and  he  would 

have  no  head  men  rivals  to  himself  as  their  fathers-in-law. 

Tshukuru  therefore  withstood  all  the  solicitations  of  the  chief 

and  the  priests,  that  his  second  daughter,  the  betrothed 

wife  of  Khamane,  should  go  through  the   ceremony  of 

**  boyali  "  before  marriage.     He  said  he  would  leave  it  to 

her  future  husband ;  if  he  wished  her  to  go  she  was  to  go, 

but  not  otherwise.     Khamane  declared  she  was  not  to  go, 

and  carried  his  point.     She  was  the  first  in  Shoshong  to 

be  married  without  introduction  to  the  "  boyali,"  and  the 

women  confidently  affirmed  that  she  would  be  barren  as  a 

punishment  for  her  departure  from  the  old  customs.     In 

this,  however,  they  were  mistaken,  for  in  her  first-bom 

she  had  the  happiness,  so  eagerly  desired  by  Bechuana 

women,  of  presenting  her  husband  with  a  son.     As  the 

enmity  of  the  head  men  was  increasingly  directed  against 

him,  Tshukuru,  as  a  heathen,  sought  to  meet  his  enemies 

on  their  own  ground,  and  to  raise  up  a  party  against  them. 

In   this,  however,  he  obtained  no  countenance  from  the 

2d 


418  NOKTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  HTVER, 

young  chiefs,  who  abstained  entirely  from  plotting  against 
their  father.  Tshukuru  was  however  joined  by  several 
head  men  who  had  secret  grounds  for  fearing  or  for 
hating  Sekhome ;  men  who  had  not  the  slightest  attach- 
ment to  Christianity,  or  appreciation  of  the  position 
which  the  young  chiefs  had  taken  up.  For  months 
angry  words  were  heard,  chiefly  uttered  by  Sekhome — ^never 
by  his  sons.  Sekhome  now  secretly  offered  a  reward  to 
any  one  who  would  assassinate  Tshukuru.  He  called 
several  Matebele  refugees,  who  were  supposed  to  be  more 
habituated  to  such  ruthless  work,  and  intimated  that  he 
wished  them  to  put  Tshukuru  to  death.  But  the  Matebele 
knew  that  Tshukuru  was  the  best  shot  among  tiie  Bamang- 
wato,  and  a  man  whose  powers  with  the  assegai  were  known 
over  the  country.  Besides,  tiiey  were  merely  refugees; 
why  should  they  meddle  with  the  quarrels  of  the  Bamang- 
watol  So  without  positively  refusing  to  do  what  they 
were  commanded,  they  put  off  time,  professing  to  be  seeking 
a  convenient  opportunity  to  transact  this  bloody  deed. 

In  January  1866,  Sekhome  considered  that  he  was  in  a 
position  to  carry  everything  before  him,  and  with  one  blow 
to  crush  all  opposition.  But  when  the  ni^t  came  on  which 
he  intended  to  kill  or  to  banish  his  own  sons,  and  all  who 
adhered  to  them,  he  found  at  the  last  hour  that  tiiere  was 
a  deep  unwillingness  on  tiie  part  of  tiie  people  to  move  a 
hand  against  the  young  chiefe.  He  ordered  his  men  to  fire. 
^  Upon  whomi"  ^Upon  these  huts,"  said  the  misguided 
chief,  pointing  to  the  houses  of  his  two  sons.  Not  a  man 
would  obey.  At  length  Sekhome  hastened  himself  to  load 
a  double-barrelled  rifle.  One  of  his  own  head  men  came 
up,  and  with  that  amount  of  compulsion  which  on  certain 
occasions  may  be  used  even  toward  a  chief^  laid  the  rifle 
aside.  Sekhome  saw  that  however  much  jealousy  mig^it 
be  roused  against  Tshukuru,  there  was  only  respect  and 


THE  TRIAL  OP  FAITH.  419 

affection  on  the  part  of  the  body  of  the  people  toward  his  chil- 
dren. The  chief  was  now  in  great  terror.  Judging  his 
sons  by  himself,  he  took  it  for  granted  that  as  he  was 
now  completely  in  their  hands  they  would  order  him  to 
be  put  to  deatL  So  he  fled  from  the  midst  of  followers 
whom  he  now  distrusted,  and  hid  himself  in  an  outhouse 
behind  his  mother's  dwelling,  while  every  entrance  to  his 
place  of  retreat  was  guarded  by  picked  retainers  in  whom 
he  still  had  confidence.  In  the  olden  time,  in  a  Bechuana 
town,  such  a  failure  as  that  of  Sekhome's  would  have  led 
to  immediate  and  most  disastrous  results.  The  man  who 
had  secured  in  this  unmistakeable  way  the  sufi&ages  of  the 
people  would  have  asserted  his  right  to  reign  at  once  in 
the  town,  and  his  opponent  would  have  been  compelled  to 
flee  or  have  been  put  to  death.  But  EJiame  and  Khamane, 
the  sons  of  Sekhome,  had  no  such  thought.  They  sent 
their  uncle,  the  brother-in-law  of  their  &ther,  to  assure  him 
that  he  need  fear  no  harm  from  them.  They  would  not 
lift  a  hand  against  him.  But  for  the  satisfaction  of  the 
people,  who  had  been  long  troubled  with  those  needless 
quarrels,  tiiey  wished  him  publicly  to  announce  what  his 
future  policy  was  to  be  as  to  this  marriage  question  ;  and 
if  there  was  to  be  now  peace  in  the  town  %  Mogomotsi  had 
the  utmost  di£Sculty  in  obtaining  admission  to  his  brother- 
in-law.  Sekhome  could  not  believe  that  there  was  no 
treachery.  At  length  the  messenger  of  his  sons  stood 
before  him,  and  delivered  to  their  guilty  and  trembling 
father  the  statement  of  their  forgiveness  for  the  past  and 
their  inquiry  with  reference  to  the  future.  Sekhome 
eagerly  answered  every  question  in  the  way  which  he  knew 
would  give  satisfaction — scarcely  believing  it  possible  that 
those  upon  whom  he  had  shortly  before  given  the  order  to 
fire,  were  addressing  him  thus  respectfully,  although  he 
was  completely  in  their  power.     It  was  now  given  out  that 


420         NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

the  strife  was  at  end ;  ELhame  was  not  to  be  forced  to  take 
Pelutona's  daughter  to  wife,  and  those  who  were  attending 
church  were  not  to  be  molested. 

I  expressed  to  the  young  chiefs  my  satisfsu^tion  on  hear- 
ing this  news,  and  my  hopes  that  Sekhome  would  now 
resume  his  formef  manner  toward  them  and  toward  the 
mission.  I  was  grieved,  however,  to  find  that  they  had  no 
such  hope.  They  did  not  believe  he  was  sincere  in  his 
public  statements.  They  said  his  past  rule  had  been 
characterized  by  a  determination  to  cany  through  every 
project  which  he  began.  If  he  gave  up  the  attempt  to  put 
down  the  Word  of  Grod  after  threatening  to  do  so,  it  would 
be  the  first  instance  in  which  he  had  ever  failed  in  an 
enterprise  to  which  he  had  committed  himseUl  Some 
time  after  they  assured  me  that  their  father  had  returned 
to  his  old  machinations,  and  with  apparently  greater 
vehemence  than  ever.  They  expressed  their  determination 
to  take  no  steps  whatever  to  counteract  what  their  &Uier 
was  doing,  but  to  trust  in  that  Providence  whidi  had 
already  delivered  them. 

A  Ln  time  after  the  signal  faUure  of  Sekhome's  plot 
against  his  sons,  I  learned  from  them  that  their  father  had 
secretly  despatched  a  messenger  to  his  brother  Machengi 
who  was  then  residing  at  the  town  of  Sechele.  Deter- 
mined not  to  relinquish  the  unnatural  strife,  Sekhome 
resolved  on  the  bold  policy  of  inviting  Macheng  back  to 
Shoshong,  and  of  outwardly  investing  him  with  the  chief- 
tainship. In  the  event  of  his  own  death  he  malidooslj 
determined  that  his  Christian  sons,  at  any  rate,  should  not 
enjoy  the  chieftainship  after  him.  And  Sekhome  was  bdd 
enough  to  trust  that  after  he  had  used  his  brother  as  a  tool, 
and  through  him  had  accomplished  all  his  wishes,  he  would 
be  able,  when  he  pleased,  to  rid  himself  of  Macheng  also, 
and  resume  the  rule  over  the  Bamangwato  with  no  one  to 


THE  TRIAL  OF  FAITH.  421 

dispute  his  aathority,  and  with  no  Christianity  to  hold  up 
its  persistent  torch-light  in  his  town,  and  even  in  his  heart, 
sa3dng  of  certain  actions,  ^^  They  are  wrong,  and  displeasing 
to  God."  In  the  meantime,  however,  the  town  of  Sho- 
shongwasin  daily  and  nightly  ferment.  Sekhome  and  his 
friends  met  no  longer  in  open  day,  but  in  the  darkness  of 
night  But  even  in  these  innermost  ranks  of  heathenism 
there  were  sure  to  be  some  waverers ;  and  Elhame  and  his 
brother  were  duly  informed  of  the  plans  which  were  being 
hatched  against  them. 

Khame  awoke  one  night  and  was  alarmed  to  find  his 
premises  lighted  up  as  if  on  fire.  On  hastening  outside 
he  discovered  the  "baloi "  or  wizards  at  their  enchantments 
opposite  the  entrance  to  his  house.  They  were  casting 
plant  after  plants  charm  after  charm,  into  the  fire,  mumbling 
and  muttering  their  dark  prayers  and  curses  as  an  accom- 
paniment. Who  would  wonder  if  a  shudder  passed  through 
the  mind  of  the  young  man,  to  find  the  previously  dreaded 
customs  of  his  ancestors  thus  actively  directed  against  him, 
the  eldest  son  of  the  chief  1  But  the  weird  appearance  of 
the  old  wizards,  whose  faces  were  lighted  up  by  the  flames 
of  their  fire,  failed  to  strike  terror  into  the  heart  of  Khame. 
Advancing  unobserved  to  the  hedge  of  his  yard,  he  sud- 
denly raised  himself  within  a  short  distance  of  the  baloi. 
Surprised  in  their  wickedness,  these  evil-doers  fled  panic- 
stricken  from  the  scene,  leaving  their  spells  and  charms 
hissing  and  crackling  in  the  flames.  Fearless  of  its 
powers  to  harm  him,  Khame  now  put  out  the  fire  and  went 
again  to  sleep.  But  if  the  young  chiefs  were  not  affected 
by  this  necromancy,  it  was  far  otherwise  with  many  who 
sympathized  with  them  personally,  and  desired  to  see  them 
enjoying  their  proper  position  in  the  town.  These  heathen 
came  to  inquire  if  ELhame  could  not  return  in  kind  the 
cursing  of  his  &ther ;   and  by  the  employment  of  other 


422  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

baloi,  counteract  the  mischief^  which  they  declared  had 
abeadj  come  upon  him  through  the  perseverance  of  Se- 
khome.  ^*  Unless  you  use  these  things  also,  the  people  will 
be  frightened  to  remain  with  you.  We  are  not  afraid  of 
Sekhome,  but  who  can  withstand  the  power  of  baloit" 
The  young  chie&,  however,  were  impracticable :  the  Word 
of  God  forbade  them  to  curse  any  one,  and  especially  tiieir 
own  father.  And  as  to  the  spells  themselves,  they  were 
worthless  observances.  The  missionaries  agreed  with 
Bechuanas,  that  people  could  be  poisoned  in  their  food,  but 
taught  that  spells  had  no  power  over  any  one ;  and  this 
was  their  own  opinion  and  experience  also.  Had  not  their 
&ther  long  tried  to  injure  them  by  such  means,  and  had  he 
not  failed  1  Had  they  not  all  health  and  prosperity  in  their 
homes  and  fsunilies  t  The  heatiien  men  answered  that  the 
Word  of  God  no  doubt  threw  its  protection  over  them ; 
but  what  was  to  become  of  those  who  did  not  believe  "  the 
books "  when  the  necromancy  was  turned  against  them  t 
They  said  that  the  people  loved  the  young  chiefe,  but  there 
was  one  power  which  would  cause  them  to  desert,  and 
that  was  the  power  of  witchcraft.  No  doubt  Tshukuiu 
did  his  best  as  a  sorcerer  to  counteract  all  these  influ- 
ences, but  he  was  so  unpopular,  through  the  jealousy  of  the 
head  men,  that  little  notice  was  taken  of  his  practice  of  the 
"  black  art."  And  his  efforts  were  further  neutralized  by 
the  open  and  repeated  declarations  of  his  sons-in-law,  that 
they  had  nothing  to  do  with  his  spells,  and  had  no  con- 
fidence in  tiiem. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

THE  FATHER  AGAINST  THE  SON. 

In  Februaiy  1866,  our  Mends  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Price  left 
OS  to  visit  their  relatives  at  Kuruman.  But  what  we  hoped 
was  only  a  separation  for  a  month  or  two,  turned  out  to 
be  our  severance  as  colleagues  at  the  same  station.  There 
were  at  that  time  so  few  missionaries  in  Bechuana-land, 
that  it  was  thought  unadvisable  that  two  should  reside  at 
one  station,  even  although  it  had  a  population  of  30,000. 
The  chief,  Sechele,  was  also  so  urgent  for  a  missionary, 
^  who  would  toach  him  as  Livingstone  had  done,"  that  it 
was  thought  best  that  Mr.  Price  should  at  once  take  charge 
of  that  station.  This  step  entailed  additional  labour  and 
inconvenience  upon  Mr.  Price,  who  having  built  a  house 
at  Shoshong,  found  himself  again  in  a  hut  at  Sechele's. 
We  were  sorry  that  this  separation  was  necessary,  and 
especially  regretted  its  cause,  in  the  fewness  of  missionaries 
in  the  country.  The  loss  of  our  friends'  society  was  much 
felt  by  us,  and  all  the  more  on  account  of  the  disturbed 
circumstances  of  the  mission  at  the  time.  At  Sechele's, 
however,  they  have  been  able  to  organize  an  extensive 
work  of  instruction.  They  found  among  the  Bakwena  a 
general  desire  to  learn  to  read,  and  it  was  with  some  diffi- 
culty that  the  wants  of  the  people  could  for  some  time  be 
met  as  to  spelling-books  and  Testaments,  all  of  which. 


424  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER, 

with  very  few  exceptions,  the  learners  purchased  with 
such  articles  of  barter  as  they  possessed. 

I  may  state  here  that  Mr.  Price  has  since  been  able  to 
organize,  or  perhaps  to  re-organize,  the  Church  at  this  old 
station  of  Dr.  Livingstone.  In  doing  so  he  required  great 
firmness  to  deal  with  Sechele.  This  chief,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  expected  to  enter  the  church.  Baptized  by  Ngake 
(the  doctor),  welcomed  into  the  conmiunion  of  the  Lutheran 
Church,  Sechele  was  disappointed  to  find  that  some  of  his 
own  servants  were  admitted  into  the  church  by  Mr.  Price 
before  their  master.  He  could  also  point  to  the  £Etct  that 
he  had  built  a  large  church  in  his  town  entirely  at  his  own 
and  his  people's  expense.  The  missionaiy,  however,  had 
weighty  reasons  for  thus  treating  the  application  of  the 
chief — treasons  which  the  latter  could  not  gainsay.  On  the 
occasion  of  one  of  my  visits  to  the  station  he  renewed  his 
application,  thinking  perhaps  that  he  would  secure  my 
support.  But  I  felt,  with  his  own  missionaiy,  that  many'of 
his  doings  were  inconsistent  with  tiie  discipleship  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ 

^^But,"  said  Sechele,  when  he  found  he  had  little  to 
hope  for  from  my  presence,  "  what  if  either  myself  or  my 
wife  were  to  die  as  we  are  now,  out  of  the  Church  I  The 
thought  is  fearfuL  Yet  life  is  uncertain,  and  you  refuse  to 
admit  us." 

And  when  it  was  explained  tiiat  the  whole  of  the  saving 
of  the  soul  is  the  work  of  Christ,  and  none  of  it  the  work 
of  man,  or  of  the  Church,  Sechele's  wife  very  stron^y  broke 
in — ^*  Of  what  use  is  a  missionaiy  then  ?" 

I  do  not  know  how  far  this  doctrine  of  faith  in  the 
Church  and  in  its  sacraments  was  taught  by  the  Lutheran 
missionaries  to  the  Bakwena.  But  such  was  the  apparent 
result  of  their  teaching  on  the  minds  of  these  people.  I 
am  quite  aware,  however,  that  it  would  be  very  un£ur  to 


THE  FATHER  AGAINST  THE  SON.  425 

attribute  every  crude  notion  held  by  Bechuanas  to  the 
missionaries  who  tought  them.  However  this  may  be,  it 
is  a  miserable  thing  for  people  to  trust  in  church,  or 
sacrament,  or  ceremony,  instead  of  directly,  personally,  and 
wholly  in  the  ever-living  Saviour. 

Some  of  the  minor  tribes  living  under  Sechele's  protec- 
tion have  made  even  greater  progress  in  knowledge  and  in 
civilisation  than  the  Bakwena.  The  whole  circumstances 
of  this  mission  are  at  present  very  encouraging,  and  there 
is  the  prospect  of  a  deep  impression  being  made  upon  the 
dense  population  of  the  district.  The  Missionary  Society 
has  recently  appointed  a  second  missionary  to  assist  Mr. 
Price  in  this  work. 

On  the  evening  of  the  8th  of  March  1866,  Khame  was 
hastily  accosted  by  a  Matebele  refugee,  resident  in  Shoshong, 
who  in  a  few  words  warned  him  that  Sekhome's  plans  were 
laid  for  that  very  night.  The  old  chief  thought  his  enemies 
were  off  their  guard.  A  decisive  blow  was  now  to  be  struck 
to  retrieve  the  defeat  and  disgrace  of  the  last  attempt. 
Many  of  the  people  had  been  secured  by  the  most  dreadful 
pledges  to  be  faithful  to  Sekhome.  "  I  myself,"  said  the 
Matebele  soldier,  '^  have  been  commissioned  to  attack  you 
in  your  house,  at  the  head  of  a  party  of  my  countrymen 
and  others  appointed  by  the  chief.  My  heart  is  very  sore; 
we  Matebele  respect  chiefs,  and  obey  their  commands — ^we 
have  put  this  off  for  a  long  time,  and  can  do  so  no  longer. 
But  my  own  heart  is  white  toward  you — it  has  no  malice; 
and  I  therefore  sought  this  opportunity  to  warn  you." 
Khame  was  within  five  minutes'  walk  of  my  house  when 
he  received  this  warning ;  so  he  came  at  once  and  informed 
me  that  if  I  heard  the  report  of  guns  during  the  night 
neither  I  nor  Ma-Willie  was  to  be  alarmed.  He  was  con- 
vinced that  no  one  would  harm  us.  I  expressed  the  hope 
that  it  would  blow  over  again  as  before ;  but  I  could  see 


426  NOBTH  OF  THB  ORANGE  RIVER. 

that  Khame  was  desponding.  He  said  that  his  father  had 
filled  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  almost  maddened  him- 
self, with  his  necromancy;  and  that  those  who  before  spoke 
boldly  on  their  behalf  were  now  a&aid  to  say  a  word.  I 
could  only  invoke  Gk)d's  blessing  and  protection  upon  tiioee 
who  sought  to  serve  Him,  and  who  were  so  hemmed  in 
by  heathenism  in  the  ranks  of  their  friends  as  well  as 
among  their  enemies. 

After  leaving  me,  Khame  went  to  inform  his  brother 
and  lus  father-in-law  of  their  danger.  Althou^  th^ 
anticipated  an  outbreak  at  some  time,  Sekhome  had 
completely  taken  them  by  surprise.  Not  suspecting 
any  danger,  Elhamane  and  Tshukuru  had  gone  to  the 
gardens  on  horseback,  and  had  not  returned  when  Khame 
made  his  appearance  at  his  father-in-law's  town.  When 
Khame  reached  his  own  dwelling,  he  found  that  armed 
men  were  fast  gathering  around  the  entrance.  They  made 
way  for  him,  however,  and  allowed  him  to  take  out  of  his 
house  whatever  he  wanted;  and  also  to  remove  his  relatives 
in  peace.  My  last  advice  to  him  was,  not  to  leave  his  own 
house,  and  not  to  fire  a  shot.  But  finding  his  premises  already 
in  the  occupation  of  Sekhome's  adherents,  he  was  obliged 
reluctantly  to  retreat  fit)m  his  own  dwelling.  Crossing  the 
river  he  took  up  his  quarters  outside  the  town,  near  to  the 
walls  of  a  building  which  had  been  begun  by  the  Hanoverian 
missionaries,  and  intended  for  a  church.  Neither  building 
nor  site  was  suitable  for  our  operations,  and  the  roofless  walls 
had  become  a  ruin.  Driven  by  their  own  father  from  their 
home,  the  young  chiefs  here  took  up  their  head-quarters. 
Hearing  what  had  taken  place,  their  friends  hastened  to 
join  them.  Some  who  attempted  to  do  so  were  foiciUy 
prevented  by  their  relations  and  friends.  Others  found 
that  their  guns  had  been  hidden  by  the  older  members  <rf 
their  families  who  favoured  the  views  of  the  cfaiet    The 


THE  FATHER  AGAINST  THE  SON.        427 

argument  used  by  these  old  men  to  their  sons  was  to  this 
effect :  ^  Two  parties  so  opposed  to  each  other  as  Sekhome 
and  his  sons  cannot  live  in  one  town.  We  preferred  the 
sons,  and  we  gave  them  their  chance.  They  might  have 
been  chiefs  of  the  town  to-day  but  for  their  being  in  the 
Word  of  God,  which  makes  them  so  impracticable.  Now, 
the  town  cannot  be  thus  disturbed.  As  the  sons  refused 
to  take  any  steps  against  their  father,  the  people  for  the 
sake  of  peace,  as  well  as  through  fear  of  Sekhome's  medi- 
cines, have  many  of  them  gone  with  the  chief  this  time ; 
and  only  those  who  are  heedless  of  death  will  now  join 
Khame.  To-night  Sekhome  will  have  the  majority  on  his 
side,  and  he  will  assuredly  not  imitate  the  example  of 
Khame  by  doing  nothing — ^he  has  already  given  orders 
concerning  the  occupation  of  his  son's  premises."  With 
such  cautions  and  remonstrances  many  young  men  were 
deterred  from  joining  Khame.  During  the  night  each 
party  sent  for  its  cattle  to  their  posts,  and  drove  them  to 
separate  places  of  security  on  the  mountain  range, — ^Khame's 
cattle  climbing  the  mountain  on  the  east,  and  Sekhome's 
on  the  west  of  the  town. 

We  spent  a  very  uncomfortable  night,  revolving  what 
could  be  done  for  the  sake  of  peace,  which  had  not  been 
already  attempted.  At  grey  dawn  the  report  of  musketry 
announced  that  actual  fighting  had  begun.  We  heard  first 
a  few  shots,  and  then  repeated  volleys,  which  resounded 
fix)m  side  to  side  of  the  kloof  or  gorge.  "  May  God  help 
the  right!"  was  our  sincere  prayer,  as  we  listened  to  the 
firing,  which  began  this  most  unnatural  and  cruel  war.  I 
hastened  to  the  door,  and  found  that  one  party  was  stationed 
opposite  the  front  of  my  house — another  half  way  up 
the  mountain  to  the  south'  of  the  house.  I  learnt  after- 
wards that  hostilities  were  commenced  by  Sekhome's  party 
— ^the  first  shot,  it  was  said,  having  been  actually  fired  by 


428  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

a  brother  of  the  young  chiefs,  called  BalitlarL  Khame  and 
E^amane  now  ascended  the  mountain  behind  the  rained 
building  already  described,  which  was  that  day  held  by  a 
party  of  their  men  under  MogomotsL  Sekhome  and  his 
men  held  the  town,  occupying  Khame's  premises  and  those 
in  the  neighbourhood.  By  stooping  down,  they  could  pass 
along  the  hedges  from  one  place  to  another  in  the  town, 
unseen  by  those  outside.  On  the  other  hand,  those  on  the 
mountain  were  more  conspicuous,  although  they  took  every 
advantage  of  the  shelter  afforded  by  the  rocks  and  bushes 
on  its  side.  Tshukuru  and  his  party  occupied  a  strong 
position  above  his  own  town,  and  were  expending  large 
quantities  of  ammunition,  with  little  or  no  result,  as  we 
afterwards  learned.  Kope,  the  head  man  of  the  village  on 
the  brow  of  the  mountains,  had  vacated  the  houses,  and 
taken  up  his  position  among  the  rocks  opposite  to  my 
house,  and  overlooking  it  He  kept  up  a  pretty  constant 
fire  against  Tshukuru,  who  however  replied  with  vigour. 
After  taking  a  survey  from  the  hill  at  the  back  of  my 
house,  I  was  satisfied  that  my  premises  were  being  re- 
spected by  the  combatants.  I  could  see  Khame's  men 
firing  from  the  mountain  side ;  and  though  I  could  not  see 
those  of  Sekhome  in  the  town,  the  smoke  from  their  guns 
gave  frequent  evidence  of  their  whereabouts. 

As  soon  as  I  heard  from  E^ame  the  previous  evening  of 
the  imminence  of  a  fresh  disturbance,  I  sent  word  to  some 
English  traders  who  were  then  on  the  station.  Two 
brothers,  who  were  then  trading  in  the  town,  found  Uiem- 
selves  involved  in  the  fray  before  they  were  well  aware  of 
it.  Their  waggons  stood  near  the  church  walls,  where 
Khame  spent  the  night.  When  hostUities  commenced, 
they  found  themselves  mixed  up  with  Khame's  men.  A 
bullet  passed  through  one  waggon  while  one  of  the  brothers 
was  asleep  in  it.     The  hut  in  which  part  of  their  goods 


THE  FATHER  AGAINST  THE  SON.        429 

was  kept,  and  in  which  the  other  brother  and  a  friend  were 
sitting,  waj9  battered  with  bullets.  Sekhome's  men  argued 
that  if  these  Englishmen  did  not  sympathize  with  the 
young  chiefs,  they  could  have  removed  their  waggons  in 
the  night  This  was  no  doubt  what  the  traders  would 
have  done,  if  they  had  known  what  was  to  take  place.  At 
the  same  time,  every  Englishman  in  the  country  was  sorry 
for  Khame,  and  convinced  of  his  sincerity  and  love  of 
peace.  His  present  position  was  calculated  to  excite  their 
sympathy.  He  represented  to  them  that  he  had  been 
unable  to  remove  all  his  own  ammunition  from  his  pre- 
mises ;  his  men's  guns  had  been  hidden  by  their  relatives ; 
the  men  had  absconded  in  the  night,  but  were  now  without 
arms.  He  was  willing  to  pay  for  everything  he  received. 
The  result  of  his  statement  was  that  the  Englishmen 
helped  him  to  provide  suitable  equipment  for  those  who 
had  cast  in  their  lot  with  him.  As  morning  approached 
Khame  gave  strict  orders  to  his  men  to  avoid  giving  the 
least  provocation  to  their  opponents,  and  that  those  who 
loved  war  must  remember  that  they  were  entirely  unpre- 
pared to  fight. 

It  was  probably  reported  to  Sekhome  in  the  night  by 
spies  that  the  Englishmen  were  assisting  Khame,  and  the 
order  had  been  given  to  respect  neither  their  lives  nor 
their  property.  Finding  that  their  hut  was  untenable, 
the  traders  retired  for  protection  behind  the  walls  of  the 
church.  It  is  perhaps  not  remarkable  that  young  English- 
men, one  of  them  not  long  from  school,  should  in  such 
circumstances  fire  upon  those  who  had  already  damaged 
their  property  and  seemed  to  wish  to  take  their  lives. 
They  thought  indeed  that  they  were  unperceived  by  the 
other  side,  and  that  while  having  what  they  called  "a 
lark"  they  were  not  compromising  themselves  or  others. 
In  this  however  they  were  mistaken,  for  a  bend  in  the 


430  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

town  hedge  commanded  a  view  of  the  place  where  thej 
stood,  mixed  up  with  Khame's  men  under  MogomotsL    It 
is  possible  these  young  men  expected  to  see  some  brilliant 
exploits  performed  by  the  young  chiefs  at  the  head  of  their 
men.     Instead  of  this  Khame  and  Khamane  retired  to  the 
mountain,  and  had  evidently  no  intention  of  making  any 
aggressive  movement  on  the  town.     The  men  in  the  town 
were  content  with  shots  fired  at  long  ranges,  and  from 
carefully  selected  shelter.      After  some  four  hours  the 
excitement  of  the  noisy  commencement  died  away  in  the 
minds  of  the  young  Englishmen.     The  whole  thing  was 
now  pronounced  ^  slow,"  and  they  began  to  bethink  them- 
selves of  their  position  as  "  neutrals  "  in  a  Bechuana  town. 
A  bullet  which  almost  grazed  one  of  their  faces  was  of 
considerable  weight  at  this  stage  of  their  discussions.     It 
was  evident  they  were  in  "  a  mess."     How  were  they  to 
get  out  of  it  1    The  curiosity  of  the  youngest  had  not  been 
yet  fully  gratified,  so  he  volunteered  to  remain  in  chaigeof 
the  waggons.     The  others  resolved  to  make  for  my  house. 
As  soon  as  they  left  their  shelter  they  were  fired  at,  but 
they  marched  at  more  than  ^double-quick"  time,   and 
escaped  unhurt.     They  made  their  appearance  at  my  house 
about  ten  o'clock,  and  gave  me  an  account  of  their  adven- 
ture.    I  was  very  sorry  that  they  had  fired;  and  th^ 
present  position,  while  it  provoked  a  smile,  had  also  its 
grave  aspect.     I  readily  tendered  all  the  protection  in  my 
power,  although,  as  I  explained  to  them,  I  was  not  at  that 
time  aware  what  my  own  treatment  was  to  be  at  the  hands 
of  Sekhome.     Two  other  traders,  who  were  not  mixed 
up  with  the  disturbance  in   any  way,  came  up  to  my 
house  and  returned  to  their  waggons  wiUiout  accident^ 
although  one  of  them  was  fired  at     My  own  premises 
enjoyed  perfect  immunity.     As  some  of  the  natives  fire 
rather  widely,  a  few  stray  bullets  were  to  be  expected, 


THE  FATHER  AGAINST  THE  SON.  431 

considering  our  proximity  to  the  scene  of  conflict.  One  of 
these  was  picked  up  in  my  cattle-pen.  The  traders  now 
removed  their  goods  to  the  neighbourhood  of  my  house. 
Although  those  who  had' broken  neutrality  were  hooted  at, 
they  were  no  longer  treated  as  enemies,  but  were  also 
allowed  to  remove  their  property  without  much  annoyance. 
In  the  afternoon  my  attention  was  attracted  to  an  old  man 
who,  having  got  within  range  of  the  guns,  sat  for  some 
hours  under  the  shelter  of  a  hedge.  I  went  over  to  him 
and  offered  him  food  and  shelter  in  my  house.  But  he 
preferred  to  go  his  own  way,  although  so  weak  and  ex- 
hausted, perhaps  partly  with  fear,  that  he  could  not  rise 
without  help. 

The  firing  was  continued  on  Saturday,  but  not  with  the 
steadiness  of  the  previous  day.  When  Sunday  dawned,  I 
had  a  sad  prospect  before  me.  Almost  all  my  congr^a- 
tion  were  on  the  mountain,  and  the  town  was  occupied  by 
those  who  were  opposed  to  my  work  as  a  missionary.  At 
the  usual  hour  for  our  morning  service,  I  went  to  the  town, 
and  was  directed  to  where  Sekhome  sat.  He  was  sur- 
rounded by  thirty  or  forty  lingaka  (sorcerers)  and  head 
men,  all  armed.  He  received  me  with  unusual  cheerful- 
ness, calling  for  chairs  to  be  brought  for  me  and  for  those 
who  accompanied  me.  "  He  has  brought  his  books,"  said 
one.  **Whom  is  he  to  teach  to-day  1"  asked  another. 
There  seemed  to  be  considerable  curiosity  to  hear  what  I 
should  say  to  Sekhome  in  such  circumstances.  The  people 
crowded  the  place  where  the  chief  sat,  and  others  listened 
outside  the  hedge.  I  returned  the  chiefs  warm  greeting, 
and  then  explained  that  I  had  come  to  see  him  to  express 
my  great  sorrow  for  what  was  taking  place  in  the  town. 
I  was  not  altogether  one  of  his  people ;  but  I  had  so  much 
knowledge  of  the  Bamangwato,  and  sympathy  for  them,  that 
I  was  very  sorry  to  see  the  town  in  its  present  condition. 


432  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

Sekhome  replied,  "  It  was  the  feult  of  those  on  the 
mountain ;  his  children  were  disobedient." 

I  did  not  hesitate  to  express  my  admiration  of  Khame's 
conduct,  so  far  as  it  was  known  to  me ;  and  said  there  was 
not  another  chief  in  Bechuana-Iand  who  had  such  obedient 
sons.  I  could  see  from  the  faces  of  the  people  that  I  had 
their  approbation  in  this  remark.  This  was  probably  per- 
ceived by  Sekhome  also;  for  instead  of  continuing  to 
find  fault  with  them,  or  with  the  Word  of  God,  he  siud 
that  now,  if  he  could  only  compass  the  death  of  Tshu- 
kuru,  he  would  give  up  the  quarrel,  and  his  children  might 
come  back.  I  now  intimated  my  wish  to  go  up  to  preach 
to  those  who  were  on  the  mountain.  Pointing  to  my 
New  Testament  and  hymn-book,  I  said,  "These  are  my 
weapons;  you  need  not  fear  allowing  me  to  go."  The 
chief  at  once  agreed,  and  the  head  men,  with  more  or 
less  readiness,  expressed  their  consent. 

The  firing  had  now  ceased  from  the  town ;  and  there 
had  been  none  from  the  mountain  this  morning.  On 
ascending  the  steep  mountain-path,  I  found  Ehamo  and 
Ehamane  on  the  summit,  surrounded  by  their  followers. 
All  were  glad  to  see  me.  Every  one  came  to  the  service 
except  the  sentries,  who  were  placed  along  the  brow  of  the 
mountain.  I  explained  to  them  some  of  the  lessons  and 
comforts  of  Christianity,  and  encouraged  them  to  seek 
peace  by  every  means  except  by  forsaking  the  service  of 
Grod.  I  found  the  young  men  evincing  an  admirable 
spirit,  and  bitterly  regretting  the  position  in  which  they 
were  placed.  "Our  days  of  peace  and  happiness  are 
over,"  they  said ;  "  for  our  father  will  never  again  beUeve 
himself  safe  in  our  hands,  after  driving  us  from  the  town." 
I  could  see  also  that  there  were  heterogeneous  elements 
among  their  followers,  some  of  them  being  merely  on  the 
mountain  on  account  of  personal  fear  of  Sekhome,  sach  a 


THE  FATHEE  AGAINST  THE  SOK.        433 

commotion  being  a  time  for  settling  all  old  reckonings 
of  enmity  and  revenge  in  a  heathen  town.    After  the 
service  I  was  asked  to  visit  a  person  of  this  description, 
an  old   sorcerer,  who  had  been  formerly  a  Mend  and 
accomplice  of  the  chief.     He  had  been  shot  through  the 
knee  on  Friday.     He  lingered  for  some  days,  but  after- 
wards died  of  the  wound.     Khame  now  explained  to  me 
that  he  intended  to  retire  to  a  stronghold  on  the  mountain 
at  some  distance    from  the  town,  and    that  he  would 
engage  in  no  offensive  movement  against  his  father.     He 
said  that  Sekhome  had  informed  Macheng  of  the  position 
of  affairs,  and  he  himself  had  sent  a  messenger  for  the 
same  purpose  to  Sechele.     Ehame  hoped  that  one  or  other 
of  these  chiefs  would  interfere   in  his  behalf.     In   the 
meantime  he  was  determined    to  wait  the  issue  with 
patience,  and  trust  in  Grod. 

For  six  weeks  the  town  of  the  Bamangwato  was  divided, 

and  the  men  were  daily  under  arms.     On  six  Sundays  I 

ascended  the  mountain  fastness,  and  preached  to  those 

who  had  been  driven  from  the  town.     I  also  took  charge 

of  property  which  had  been  left  in  the  hands  of  Elhame 

and  other  combatants  by  English   hunters  and  traders. 

Sekhome  was  agreeable  to  this  arrangement ;  so  I  removed 

from  the  town  native  produce  and  European  goods,  the 

owners  of  which  were  absent.     I  felt  convinced  that  my 

position  as  a  man  of  peace  was  strengthened  when  I  was 

able  to  remove  valuable  goods  in  presence  of  both  parties, 

and    store   them  on  my  own  premises.     And   so,  with 

reference  to  cattle,  I  received  both  from  Khame  and  from 

some   of  Sekhome's  men  oxen  belonging  to  Englishmen* 

which  I  placed  at  a  post  with  my  own. 

At  the  first  convenient  opportunity  I  conducted  to 
Sekhome  and  his  head  men  the  Englishman  who  had  been 
seen  firing,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  assist  him  out  of  his 

2  E 


434  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

false  position.  Sekhome  received  him  somewhat  curtly ; 
but  I  could  see  there  was  to  be  no  serious  difficulty. 
I  began  by  saying  that  '^  this  was  the  man  who  had  taken 
refuge  in  my  house;  if  he  had  done  wrong,  let  those 
speak  whom  he  had  wronged,  and  let  not  evil  thoughts  be 
hidden  in  men's  hearts.''  Sekhome  sent  for  a  man  whose 
wrist  had  received  some  splinters  of  a  bullet  which  had 
first  struck  a  neighbouring  rock. 

"  This  man,"  said  Sekhome,  "  has  been  shot  by  Moshow 
^Mr.  El — );  none  of  Ehame's  people  had  small  shot  in 
their  guns ;  this  is  blood  drawn  by  an  Englishman." 

My  companion  was  somewhat  uneasy,  but  protested  that 
he  had  not  fired  any  small  shot.  I  bethought  me  of  a 
simple  diversion  in  his  favour,  and  said,  ^  This  c^-tainly 
looks  somewhat  like  small  shot;  but  might  it  not  hare 
been  the  bits  of  a  bullet  which  had  struck  against  a  rock  t 
Before  coming  to  any  decision,  I  would  suggest  that  the 
chief  take  a  walk  up  as  far  as  this  Englishman's  waggons, 
and  he  will  there  find  numerous  bullet-marks  which  may 
guide  him  in  settling  the  question." 

The  chiefs  face  lighted  up  :  ^'  Was  there  much  damage 
done  to  the  waggon  t"  he  asked. 

I  replied  that  there  was  a  great  deal,  but  that  what  in- 
terested me  was  the  similarity  of  the  marks  on  the  side  of 
the  waggon  to  those  on  the  man's  wrist. 

So  it  was  agreed  that  Moshow's  case  should  stand  over 
till  the  damage  to  the  waggon  was  inspected  Ne3:t  day 
Sekhome  and  his  head  men  appeared,  and  I  pointed  out 
to  him  the  marks  I  had  referred  to.  The  waggons  had 
indeed  sustained  a  good  deal  of  damage,  and  would  always 
bear  the  marks  of  the  bullets.  After  inspecting  them  with 
evident  satisfaction,  Sekhome  of  his  own  accord  said  thai 
Moshow  was  acquitted :  the  wounds  on  the  waggim  woold 
atone  for  the  wounds  on  the  man's  hand  1 


THE  FATHER  AGAINST  THE  SON.  435 

On  the  night  of  Sunday  the  18th  March,  I  was  going 
the  round  of  my  premises  before  retiring  to  rest,  when  to 
my  surprise  I  stumbled  in  the  darkness  on  a  number  of 
armed  men.  "  Why  do  you  sit  there  in  the  dark  V*  I  asked. 
They  said  they  had  been  appointed  by  Sekhome  to  sur- 
round my  house  for  the  purpose  of  waylaying  Mogomotsi 
and  Khamane.  Sekhome  had  heard  that  they  were  every 
night  in  my  house.  I  gave  them  a  message  to  Sekhome 
that  it  was  not  correct  that  any  of  those  from  the  hill  had 
visited  my  house ;  but  that  I  was  glad  that  he  had  sent 
men  who  would  now  see  for  themselves.  I  had  this  "  black 
watch"  every  night  round  my  house  for  several  weeks. 
The  circumstances  attending  its  withdrawal  were  some- 
what amusing.  I  usually  came  upon  some  of  them  every 
night,  in  snug  comers,  where  they  were  frequently  sound 
asleep.  I  roused  a  party  of  them  one  night,  and  warned 
them  that  if  I  found  them  asleep  again  I  should  take  their 
guns  from  them  and  hand  them  over  to  Sekhome  next 
morning  in  the  kotla,  and  before  all  the  Bamangwato! 
They  never  made  their  appearance  again. 

On  Wednesday  the  21st,  I  took  Mrs.  Mackenzie  and  the 

children  about  three  miles  in  the  waggon,  for  a  few  hours' 

quiet  in  the  country ;  we  raised  a  swing  for  the  children,  and 

all  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  change.     A  little  before  sunset 

wo  returned  to  our  house.     One  of  my  children  exclaimed 

on  our  way  home,  "  Who  are  all  these  coming  behind  us  1" 

Hiooking  back,  I  saw  that  perhaps  two  hundred  armed  men 

Trere  following  us  into  the  town.     It  seemed  that  when  I 

left  in  the  morning  it  was  immediately  taken  for  granted 

tliat  my  journey  had  something  to  do  with  the  quarrel 

going  on,  and  that  I  had  probably  an  engagement  to  meet 

some  of  Kbame's  men  in  the  country,  in  order  to  supply 

/tlxem  with  ammimition.     Although  we  knew  nothing  of 

tilieir  proximity,  we  had  been  watched  by  all  these  armed 


436  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

men  the  whole  day.  Surely  it  most  have  been  a  rebuke 
to  them  to  see  that  instead  of  having  any  warlike  object 
whatever,  we  had  come  purely  for  the  sake  of  recreation. 

Sunday  the  25th  was  a  day  of  some  excitement  Eaily 
in  the  morning  Mr.  B —  made  his  appearance  and  veiy 
kindly  took  me  aside,  and  informed  me  of  certain  rumours 
which  he  had  heard  in  the  town,  and  strongly  advised  me  not 
to  go  up  to  the  mountain.  I  had  already  heard — not  the 
floating  rumours,  but  that  on  which  they  were  based — the 
decision  of  a  secret  meeting  of  Sekhome's  head  men,  and 
the  discussion  which  had  then  taken  place.  The  meeting 
had  been  held  in  the  court-yard  of  the  chiefs  mother,  whose 
opinion  was  always  sought  by  Sekhome  on  occasions  of 
difficulty. 

^  It  seems  to  me  that  the  Bamangwato  men  have  become 
entirely  changed  now-a-days,"  said  this  old  hag.  "  There 
is  one  insignificant  white  man  who  is  stronger  than  the 
whole  town  of  the  Bamangwato.  He  owes  Sekhome  cows, 
being  the  wages  of  his  men,  and  refuses  to  pay  them.  Ebul  he 
done  so  in  the  olden  time  a  true  chief  would  have  seized  his 
whole  herd.  He  takes  the  property  of  the  white  men,  which 
ought  to  have  been  eaten  up  by  the  chie^  and  removes  it  to 
his  own  premises.  He  goes  out  in  his  waggon,  or  he  rides 
outon  horseback,and  there  is  treason  under  every  movement 
Every  Sunday  he  visits  your  sons,  to  strengthen  them  in 
that  Word  of  God  which  has  been  their  ruin.  And  yet 
you  all  seem  to  think  of  this  little  thing  called  a  teacher, 
as  if  he  had  power  in  the  town.  What  power  can  he  havet 
Does  he  not  go  about  unarmed  1  I  am  a  woman,  bat  I  am 
this  day  ashamed  of  the  men  of  the  Bamangwato.'* 

Several  head  men  then  proposed  the  expulsion  of  all  the 
white  men  and  the  plundering  of  their  goods,  Pelntooa 
proposed  more  extreme  measures  with  reference  to  the  mis- 
sionary, and  then,  he  said,  no  more  would  fqllow  to  trouble 
the  town  by  teaching  the  Word  of  God. 


THE  FATHER  AGAINST  THE  SON.  437 

Sekhome  denied  that  he  was  afraid  of  the  missionary ; 
but  said  that  no  one  must  injure  him.  "  The  blame  of 
having  the  missionaiy  rests  with  me."  said  the  chief,  "for 
it  was  I  who  invited  him  to  come  and  dwell  in  the  town. 
No  white  man's  blood  must  be  shed  in  this  town  while  I 
am  chief.  Did  I  not  spare  the  Boers  whom  Sechele  tempted 
me  to  kill  ]  And  shall  I  imitate  Sekeletu,  and  injure  those 
who  have  come  as  friends,  and  whom  I  myself  have  invited  1 
But  they  must  all  leave  till  this  quarrel  is  over,  and  the 
missionary  must  go  also,  for  his  presence  strengthens  my 
sons." 

Such  had  been  some  of  the  opinions  expressed  at  this 
secret  councU.  My  informant  was  a  school-girl,  whose 
mother  was  the  servant  of  the  mother  of  Sekhome,  and  was 
in  attendance  upon  the  assembled  councillors.  The  old 
woman,  who  was  not  a  Christian,  found  occasion  to  go  home 
and  to  despatch  her  daughter  to  inform  me  of  my  danger. 
Through  this  act  of  genuine  kindness  I  knew  the  cause  of 
the  evil  rumours  and  threats  of  which  Mr.  B —  now  warned 
me.  After  considering  everything,  I  decided  to  go  down 
to  Sekhome  as  usual,  and  ask  his  permission  to  ascend  the 
mountain  to  preach,  and  if  he  positively  refused,  to  return 
home. 

For  the  first  time,  I  was  that  Sunday  hooted  in  the 
streets,  and  from  behind  hedges,  where  I  could  not  see  the 
speakers.  I  was  accompanied  by  a  young  Englishman,  who 
went  with  me  on  almost  every  journey  to  the  mountains. 
When  we  reached  the  entrance  to  the  kotla  we  met  several 
parties  of  young  men  "  dressed "  for  a  public  assembly. 
Some  were  spotted  with  white  clay  like  tigers,  others  were 
striped  like  zebras,  while  every  kind  of  fismcifiil  head- 
dress was  worn.  A  considerable  gathering  had  already 
taken  place  at  the  kotla.  While  I  was  looking  round  for 
the  chief,  I  was  surprised  by  two  old  men,  who  suddenly 


438  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

approached  me  brandishing  their  spears,  demanding  at  the 
same  time,  amid  many  imprecations  and  threats,  that 
I  should  at  once  leave  the  town.  They  both  foamed  at 
the  mouth  with  excitement  and  passion  while  they  went 
on  with  their  raving  charges.  After  they  had  both  said  a 
good  deal,  and  gesticulated  with  their  spears  to  their 
hearts'  content,  I  reminded  them  that  I  had  the  same 
right  to  be  in  the  town  as  the  rest  of  its  inliabitants.  My 
house  had  been  built  with  the  full  approbation  of  Sekhome. 
It  was  for  the  chief  to  find  fault  with  me,  but  it  was  not 
becoming  in  old  men,  who  ought  to  be  an  example  to 
others,  to  insult  and  threaten  a  defenceless  man  in  the 
kotla.  They  now  went  and  sat  down,  exhausted  by  tiieir 
efifbrts,  when  a  person  whom  I  did  not  know  came  up  to 
me,  and  encouraged  me  not  to  heed  these  people ;  I  had  to 
look  to  Sekhome  only.  Soon  after  the  chief  strode  into 
the  kotla,  looking  very  gloomy  and  angry.  He  at  first 
positively  forbade  my  going  up  to  the  mountain  to  preach, 
but  after  a  little  expostulation  and  patient  waiting  he 
gruflOiy  gave  his  consent.  He  probably  intended  to  frights 
me,  for  while  I  sat  beside  him  he  called  a  well-known 
factotum  who  performed  a  good  deal  of  his  dirty  work, 
and  he  in  turn  went  and  whispered  to  a  Matebele  soldier, 
who  was  sitting  at  some  distance,  assegai  in  hand.  Wh^ 
we  rose  to  go  this  soldier  went  with  us  for  no  object  of 
his  own  that  I  could  discover.  Afljer  walking  with  us 
some  distance  he  suddenly  turned  back.  Sekhome  also 
asked  which  road  I  was  to  take.  When  I  had  finished 
the  services  on  the  mountain  I  found  two  companiee  ci 
armed  men  waiting  at  the  place  I  had  mentioned  to  the 
chief.  But  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  men  themselves  were 
now  more  respectful  than  in  the  morning.  It  struck  me 
as  if  there  had  been  a  trial  of  determination,  uid  that  I 
had  gained  the  day.     The  chief  had  declared  I  was  not  to 


THE  FATHER  AGAINST  THE  SON.  439 

go  up  to  the  mountain  again,  but  had  yielded  me  permission 
in  the  end.  He  had  promised  to  expel  me  from  the  town ; 
he  could  not  muster  heart  even  to  mention  such  a  thing. 

While  on  the  moimtain  I  learned  the  cause  of  the 
increased  irritation  on  the  part  of  Sekhome  and  his  people. 
On  Friday  night  Sekhome  despatched  two  lingaka  or 
sorcerers  with  a  large  quantity  of  charms  and  spells,  and 
perhaps  poisons,  which  they  were  to  throw  into  the  foun- 
tain supplying  water  for  the  young  chiefs'  party  and  their 
cattle.  Before  these  men  started  on  their  nefarious  errand, 
the  most  potent  spells  were  applied  to  themselves  by 
the  chief  and  the  other  sorcerers.  When  all  was  com- 
pleted, they  were  assured  that  there  would  be  darkness 
wherever  they  went — the  clouds  of  night  would  compass 
them  so  that  no  eye  should  behold  them.  But  alas  for 
charms  and  incantations !  The  young  chiefs  had  sentries 
posted  at  the  water,  who  instead  of  challenging  the  approach- 
ing wizards,  allowed  them  to  come  dose  to  the  water,  when 
they  fired  and  shot  the  very  man  who  carried  the  charms, 
which  were  found  beside  his  lifeless  body  next  morning. 
This  was  what  had  irritated  the  chief,  who  saw  in  this  cir- 
cumstance more  than  the  death  of  a  man :  it  was  the  proved 
inefficacy  of  their  greatest  charms  and  most  solemn  rites. 

On  returning  to  my  house  I  found  that  the  Englishmen 
on  the  station  were  unanimously  of  opinion  that  it  would 
not  be  desirable  for  us  to  remain  longer  on  the  place 
while  the  disturbance  was  going  on  among  the  Bamang- 
wato.  They  had  made  their  own  arrangements  to  leave, 
and  had  kindly  offered  my  wife  their  assistance  in  the 
work  of  preparation  in  my  absence,  so  that  when  I  returned 
I  should  have  the  less  to  do.  With  the  kindest  intentions 
they  also  pictured  to  Mrs.  Mackenzie  in  the  strongest 
light  the  dangers  of  our  position,  and  the  open  threats 
which  were  now  used*     But  my  wife  viewed  the  matter 


440  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

very  quietly,  declining  the  proffered  assistance  until  she 
should  know  that  I  had  made  up  my  mind  to  leave. 
My  arrival  was  that  day  waited  for  with  more  than  ordi- 
nary anxiety.  In  the  evening,  after  our  usual  English 
service,  the  subject  was  fiilly  discussed.  I  represented  to 
those  present  that  in  the  excited  state  of  the  people's  feel- 
ings, to  go  away  would  be  the  signal  for  the  pillage  and 
destruction  of  the  property  of  absent  hunters  and  traders, 
as  well  as  of  the  mission  station.  For  my  own  part  I 
should  leave  only  when  the  chief  plainly  informed  me  that 
he  could  no  longer  afford  me  his  protection.  It  was  not 
to  be  expected,  however,  that  temporary  residents  would 
Jiave  the  same  feelings  as  myself  about  leaving  Shoshong, 
sad  accordingly  three  of  the  traders  took  their  departure 
on  the  following  Tuesday. 

Towards  myself  the  temper  of  the  people  gradually 
Improved.  I  went  up  more  frequently  to  the  mountiun, 
sud  sometimes  as  the  bearer  of  messages  from  the  one  side 
to  the  other.  One  day  I  was  standing  on  the  brow  of  the 
hill,  taking  leave  of  the  young  chiefs,  when  a  man 
approached  from  the  gardens,  and,  kneeling  behind  an  ant- 
hill, took  aim  at  the  group.  As  we  were  about  300  yards 
from  him  there  was  little  danger.  The  man  had  evidently 
some  difficulty  in  his  own  mind  about  firing  while  I  was 
one  of  the  party ;  for  after  a  short  time  he  retired  into  the 
shelter  of  the  com  and  sugar-cane  in  the  garden.  As 
soon  as  I  left,  however,  he  again  approached,  and  fired  upon 
those  with  whom  I  had  been  conversing.  At  the  same 
place,  a  few  days  afterwards,  a  Dutch  himter  and  an  English 
trader,  who  had  obtained  permission  from  the  chief  to  visit 
those  on  the  moimtain,  were  fired  upon  by  Sekhome's  men 
under  Ealitlari,  his  son.  The  Dutchman,  who  was  wdl 
known  in  the  town,  was  very  indignant,  and  complained  to 
Sekhome  of  the  violation  of  his  safe-conduct  by  his  own 
Bon,  but  received  no  satisfaction, 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

FUGHT  OF  SEKHOMK 

After  this  unhappy  strife  had  lasted  a  month,  Sekhome 
made  a  desperate  effort  to  bring  it  to  a  close.  He  resolved 
to  ascend  the  mountain  and  besiege  E^ame's  position,  so 
as  to  cut  off  his  supply  of  water.  For  this  purpose  he 
called  in  all  the  neighbouring  Bakalahari,  mustered  all  the 
Makalaka,  and  eveiy  available  man  in  Shoshong.  Khame 
and  his  people  stood  the  siege  for  eight  days.  During  this 
time  their  live  stock  got  no  water.  Even  for  themselves 
they  could  only  procure  melons  from  the  gardens  in  the 
night  by  eluding  the  vigilance  of  those  who  invested  their 
position.  I  saw  the  oxen  and  the  sheep  and  goats  when 
they  had  been  seven  days  without  water.  Their  piteous 
lowing  and  bleating  might  have  been  heard  at  a  consider- 
able distance.  It  was  evident  that  this  state  of  things 
could  not  last  long.  Latterly  I  had  been  the  bearer  of 
milder  messages  than  formerly  from  camp  to  camp.  At 
the  request  of  Khame  I  led  over  a  horse  to  Sekhome,  which 
had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  his  sons'  followers.  The  chief 
now  professed  to  me  that  he  had  not  come  to  fight ;  he 
had  only  come  to  beg  Khame  to  come  home  again. 

Khame  first  requested  that  a  separate  position  in  the 
town  should  be  assigned  to  him  and  to  all  who  were  with 
liim  on  the  moimtain.  He  said  he  knew  that  the  customs 
of  the  Word  of  God  were  displeasing  to  his  father,  and 


442  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

therefore  proposed  that  those  who  adopted  them  should  be 
allowed  to  reside  in  a  division  of  the  town  by  themselves. 
Should  enemies  attack  the  town  they  would  be  found  at 
their  post,  although  they  would  not  attend  upon  the  con- 
stantly recurring  heathen  ceremonies.     Sekhome,  however, 
was  too  far-seeing  to  consent  to  this.     Had  he  done  so,  in 
less  than  a  year  the  majority  of  the  young  people  would 
have  deserted  him.     Khame's  next  message  to  Sekhome 
was  that  he  would  return  to  the  town  on  condition  that 
his  father  should  retire  first,  and  allow  him  to  enter  the 
town  as  a  free  person,  and  not  as  a  captive.     He  protested 
that  he  had  been  unjustly  driven  from  the  town,  and 
cruelly  hunted  on  the  mountain,  whereas  he  had  never 
attacked  the  town,  and  had  himself  shown  no  enmity  to 
his  father.     Sekhome  did  not  at  first  agree  to  this  demand 
of  his  son,  which  would  rob  himself  and  his  party  of  the 
honour  of  driving  their  captives  before  them  into  the  town 
amid  the  plaudits  of  the  assembled  population.     But  at 
length  an  interview  took  place  between   Sekhome  and 
Khame  at  the  camp  of  the  former,  when  Sekhome  agreed 
to  return  to  the  town  first,  and  that  Khame  should  follow 
with  his  men  some  hours  after.     When  the  young  chief 
made  his  appearance  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  town  the 
applause  was  not  so  great  as  had  been  given  to  Sekhome, 
but  still  many  cheered  him.     The  conquered  party  sat 
down  at  the  entrance  to  the  court-yard,  and  were  ih&e 
detained  a  long  time  before   Sekhome  condescended  to 
'^  call "  his  son  to  approach  him  and  occupy  the  place  of 
honour.     After  this  took  place,  the  young  chiefs  foUoweis 
returned  to  their  own  homes,  and  the  division  in  the  town 
of  the  Bamangwato  was  outwardly  healed.     Some  time 
after,  in  giving  me  an  account  of  these  things,  Khame  said 
his  idea  in  stipulating  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  re-enta 
the  town  at  the  head  of  his  own  mc^n,  was  to  show  that  he 


FLIGHT  OF  SEKHOME.  443 

had  done  no  wrong  before  he  was  expelled;  and  that, 
whilst  willing  to  return,  he  adhered  to  the  opinions  on 
account  of  which  he  had  been  driven  out 

But  there  were  some  men  on  the  mountain  for  whom  it 
was  well  known  Sekhome  had  no  quarter.     If  Khame  was 
to  return  to  the  town,  these  men  must  flee.     Chief  of  these 
was  Tshukuru,  whom  Khamane  agreed  to  accompany  as  a 
protector.     Khame  had  received  a  letter  from  Sechele  a 
few  days  before,  in  which  he  offered  any  of  them  a  place  of 
refuge  so  long  as  the  anger  of  Sekhome  lasted.     In  this 
epistle  Tshukuru's  name  was  specially  mentioned.     It  was 
nevertheless  feared  that  Sechele  might  not  keep  this  pro- 
mise in  the  case  of  a  man  who  had  thwarted  him  in  some 
of  his  cherished  schemes ;  but  it  was  imagined  that  if  he 
was  accompanied  by  a  son  of  Sekhome,  and  one  who,  like 
Sechele  himseK,  professed  to  be  a  Christian,  no  act  of 
violence  would  take  place.     In  this,  however,  they  were 
mistaken.     In  the  middle  of  the  first  night  after  reaching 
Sechele's,  a  messenger  came  to  the  sleeping-place  of  the  Ba- 
mangwato,  and  roused  Tshukuru.     He  said  that  Khosilintsi, 
the  brother  of  Sechele,  desired  a  private  interview  with  him ; 
as  there  was  to  bJe  a  public  assembly  of  the  Bakwena  on  the 
following  day,  Khosilintsi  wished  beforehand  to  master  all 
the  details  of  the  Bamangwato  quarrel,  so  as  to  be  able  pub- 
licly to  advocate  the  claims  of  the  refugees.     As  Khosilintsi 
had  always  been  his  special  friend,  Tshukuru  left  his  men 
without  suspicion,  and  followed  the  messenger.     After  they 
had  proceeded  some  distance  in  the  dark,  they  were  joined 
"by  a  Matebele  refugee,  who  was  a  confidential  servant  of 
Sechele,  and  who  was  now  accompanied  by  a  few  armed 
men.     In  a  little  Tshukuru  discovered  from  the  nature  of 
the  path  that  they  were  no  longer  in  the  town.     **  What 
liead  man  lives  in  the  bushes  ? "  said  the  heathen  man, 
-whose  mind  was  familiar  with  all  the  schemes  which  chiefs 


\ 


444  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

resort  to  in  such  circumstances.  "  You  have  been  ordered 
by  Sechele  to  kill  me.  If  so,  I  need  go  no  further."  "While 
speaking  he  was  speared  by  those  who  attended  him.  His 
body  was  never  buried,  but  was  eaten  by  the  wolves. 

Thus  died  Tshukuru,  a  schemmg  and  ambitious  man, 
whose  aims  in  the  town  of  the  Bamangwato  were  of  a 
character  as  selfish  and  unprincipled  as  those  of  Sekhome. 
Sechele  owed  Tshukuru  a  grudge,  because  he  was  as  astute 
as  himself,  and  had  co-operated  with  him  in  the  execution 
of  certain  schemes  only  in  so  far  as  was  pleasing  to  himself, 
and  not  so  far  as  Sechele  would  have  desired.  The  assas- 
sination of  Tshukuru  is  a  dark  blot  on  the  name  of  Sechele. 
When  the  news  reached  Shoshong,  the  large  division  of  the 
town  of  which  Tshukuru  was  the  head  man  joined  in  sound- 
ing the  death-wail  of  the  murdered  man.  **  0  where  shall  we 
find  himi  Who  shall  now  provide  for  usi  Who  will 
take  his  place  in  the  council,  or  the  chase,  or  the  field  of 
battle  ?  Where  shall  we  find  him  1 "  And  then  followed 
the  wild  chorus,  expressive  of  great  anguish — "  Yo—jo — 
yol"  the  mourners  falling  on  their  faces,  tearing  their 
hair,  and  beating  their  breasts  in  the  frenzy  of  their 
sorrow.  This  harrowing  dirge  was  frequenUy  heard  in 
such  a  large  town  as  Shoshong.  Its  loudness  and  its  long 
duration  indicated  the  high  rank  of  the  person  who  had 
passed  away.  Christianity  causes  the  death-wail  to  cease. 
In  Bechuana-land  those  who  profess  to  be  believers  mourn 
over  their  dead  with  as  much  self-restraint  as  people  now 
do  in  England,  and  with  much  less  heathenish  demonstra- 
tion than  was  exhibited,  after  centuries  of  Christian  teach- 
ing, in  the  Celtic  lyk-wake. 

But  the  commotions  at  Shoshong  were  not  to  end  with 
the  return  of  Khame  to  the  town.  A  new  source  of  trouUe 
soon  after  appeared  in  the  person  of  Macheng,  the  brother 
of  Sekhome,  and  the  legal  chief  of  the  Bamangwato. 


FLIGHT  OF  SEKHOME.  445 

Sekhome  had  made  overtures  to  him  when  he  found  that 
the  sympathies  of  the  Bamangwato  were  with  his  sons. 
But  as  soon  as  he  saw  that  he  would  be  able  himself 
to  subdue  all  opposition,  he  tried  to  draw  back,  and  to 
dissuade  his  brother  from  coming.  But  Macheng  was 
not  to  be  thus  put  off.  He  had  been  invited,  and  he  reso^ 
lutely  ignored  all  subsequent  messages  of  a  different  import. 
He  made  his  appearance  therefore  at  Shoshong  in  the 
month  of  May,  at  the  head  of  those  Bamangwato  men 
who  had  fled  with  him  some  eight  years  before.  He  left 
the  women  and  the  children  untfl  he  should  find  what  his 
own  reception  was  to  be.  When  Macheng  arrived,  Khame 
informed  me  that  it  was  quite  possible  he  would  now  have 
to  flee.  He  was  aware  that  Macheng  was  pledged  to  put 
him  to  death.  He  had  given  this  promise  to  Sekhome 
before  he  left  Sechele's  town.  Khame  was  entirely  ignor- 
ant as  to  what  course  he  would  take,  now  that  he  had 
arrived.  But  if  I  heard  that  he  had  suddenly  left  the 
town,  I  was  to  understand  that  he  had  done  so  in  order  to 
avoid  assassination. 

For  many  weeks  after  his  arrival  Macheng  preserved 
the  utmost  reserve.  He  lived  in  great  retirement,  sleeping 
and  eating  only  in  the  company  of  his  own  men.  Sekhome 
introduced  Macheng  to  the  Bamangwato  at  a  public  as- 
sembly. He  told  the  people  that  he  had  called  home  his 
brother  from  his  exile,  and  that  he  was  now  their  chief. 
The  smooth-tongued  and  perhaps  bewildered  head  men 
rose  one  after  the  other  to  praise  Sekhome,  and  to  greet 
Macheng. 

At  length  Elhame  rose  and  spoke.  Addressing  himself 
to  Macheng,  he  said  : — "  Khosi !  (king),  it  would  appear 
that  I  alone  of  all  the  Bamangwato  am  to  speak  unplea^ 
sant  words  to  you  this  day.  The  Bamangwato  say 
they  are  glad  to  see  you  here.     I  say  I  am  not  glad  to 


446  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

see  you.  If  Sekhome  could  not  live  with  his  own 
children,  but  drove  them  from  the  town,  and  shot  at 
them,  how  is  he  to  submit  to  be  ruled  by  you  1 — ^how  will 
he  learn  to  obey]  If  I  thought  there  would  be  peace 
in  the  town,  I  would  say  I  was  glad  to  see  you ;  I  say 
I  am  sorry  you  have  come,  because  I  know  that  only 
disorder  and  death  can  take  place  when  two  chiefs 
sit  in  one  kotla."  Turning  to  the  people,  he  said,  "  I  wish 
all  the  Bamangwato  to  know  that  I  renounce  all  preten- 
sions to  the  chieftainship  of  the  Bamangwato.  Here  are 
two  chie&  already;  I  refuse  to  be  called  the  third,  as 
some  of  you  have  mockingly  styled  me.  My  kingdom 
consists  in  my  gun,  my  horses,  and  my  waggon.  If  yon 
will  give  me  liberty  to  possess  these  as  a  private  person,  I 
renounce  all  concern  in  the  politics  of  the  town.  £a^ 
cially  do  I  refuse  to  attend  night  meetings.  When  m^  sit 
together  in  the  dark,  and  are  afraid  to  hold  their  meeting 
in  the  daylight,  they  themselves  confess  that  their  deeds 
are  eviL  If  you  wish  me  to  attend  your  meetings,  they 
must  be  held  in  the  daylight.  I  am  sorry,  Macheng,  H^ 
I  cannot  give  you  a  better  welcome  to  the  Bamangwata" 

This  was  a  marvellous  speech  to  fall  among  double- 
tongued,  reticent^  and  scheming  men.  What  was  to  be 
done  with  a  man  whose  delight  seemed  to  be  to  destroy 
all  crooked  counsels,  and  put  an  end  to  the  ^'boUale** 
(wisdom)  on  which  the  Bechuana  head  men  plumed  them- 
selves ]  The  common  people,  however,  secretly  applauded 
Ehame,  although  they  were  afraid  to  do  so  openly. 

A  little  before  the  assembly  broke  up,  Macheng  rose 
and  said, "  Many  speeches  have  been  made  to-day,  many 
words  of  welcome  have  been  addressed  to  me.  All  these 
I  have  heard  with  the  ear;  one  speech,  and  one  only, 
has  reached  my  heart,  and.  that  is  the  iq>eech  of  Ehaiqe. 
I  thank  Khame  for  his  speech." 


FLIGHT  OF  SEKHOME.  447 

Some  time  after  this,  Macheng  had  a  private  interview 
with  Khame,  when  he  asked  for  the  young  chiefs  con- 
fidence. He  said  his  mind  had  been  poisoned  by  the  false 
statements  which  Sekhome  had  published  throughout 
Bechuana-land  concerning  his  sons.  AU  the  chiefs  and 
people  living  at  a  distance  believed  these  reports,  and 
had  recommended  him  at  once  to  fulfil  his  promise  on  his 
arrival,  and  put  the  disobedient  sons  to  death.  '^But 
since  I  arrived  at  Shoshong,"  continued  Macheng,  "  I  have 
seen  and  heard  for  myself.  The  people  of  the  Word  of 
God  alone  speak  the  truth.  By  all  the  rest  I  am  met 
with  fair  speeches  and  deceit.  Henceforth  you  may  trust 
in  me,  as  I  will  rely  on  you." 

In  the  public  court-yard  some  time  after  this,  Macheng 
said  to  Sekhome,  '^  You  called  me  from  the  Bakwena  to 
kill  your  rebellious  sons.  My  heart  refuses  to  do  this. 
They  are  your  sons,  not  mine ;  if  you  wish  them  to  be 
killed,  kill  them  yourself." 

Thus  the  unnatural  plot  of  Sekhome  fell  to  the  ground. 
Afraid  lest  his  men  should  now  desert  him,  Sekhome  in 
his  blandest  manner  proposed  to  Macheng  that  there 
should  be  only  one  public  court-yard  in  the  town,  at  which 
both  Macheng  and  he  should  sit.  Were  they  not  brothers  1 
They  might  quarrel  if  they  had  separate  courts ;  but  not 
if  they  had  only  one.  Macheng,  however,  fully  appre- 
hended the  drift  of  his^  brother's  treacherous  proposition ; 
and  insisted  on  laying  out  a  kotla  for  himself,  round  which 
he  and  his  friends  could  build.  Sekhome  was  thus  placed 
in  a  secondary  position  in  the  town ;  and  Macheng  was 
the  acknowledged  chief  of  the  Bamangwato.  Liberty  to 
attend  upon  instruction  was  once  more  enjoyed.  Macheng 
did  not  come  to  church  himself,  but  he  did  not  hinder 
hi^  people  from  coming. 

As  Sekhome  was  no  longer  in  a  position  to  take  undue 


448  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER, 

advantage  of  the  concession  which  I  was  about  to  make,  I 
resolved  to  put  an  end  to  the  only  ostensible  grounds  of 
dispute  between  him  and  me,  and  to  pay  his  men  whom  I 
had  hired,  twelve  months'  wages  for  six  months'  work  I 
accordingly  called  Sekhome,  and  paid  him  his  unreason- 
able demand.  That  night  he  paid  me  a  visit,  with  only'' 
one  attendant,  after  his  old  custom. 

"  Why  did  you  quarrel  with  me,  Sekhome  1"  I  inquired. 
"You  always  knew  that  my  heart  was  white  towards 
you." 

"  It's  all  past  now,"  said  the  ex-chief.  "  It  was  not  on 
your  own  account  that  I  quarrelled  with  you,  but  to 
further  my  plans  against  Tshukuru  and  my  children." 

No  one  who  knew  Sekhome  ever  expected  that  he 
would  live  quietly  under  Macheng.  He  was  soon  at  his 
favourite  work  of  hatching  plots — ^holding  those  secret 
councils  which  had  been  denounced  by  his  son,  and  ded- 
ing  largely,  as  before,  in  charms  and  incantations.  Most 
of  the  old  men  still  favoured  his  cause.  It  was  resolved 
that  he  should  now  rid  himself  of  all  his  enemies  at  one 
blow.  An  assembly  was  to  be  called.  Macheng  and 
Khame,  and  all  Sekhome's  enemies,  were  to  be  left  to  take 
their  places  in  the  court-yard  first  It  would  only  remain 
for  Sekhome  and  for  his  trusty  followers  to  surround  them, 
and  at  least  make  sure  of  the  leaders. 

Macheng,  without  suspicion,  agreed  to  call  the  aasembij. 
When  the  day  arrived  on  which  it  was  to  take  place,  the 
followers  of  Macheng  were  about  io  fall  into  the  trap. 
But  Khame  had  been  informed,  by  some  secret  fiiend,  of 
the  conspiracy,  perhaps  with  the  idea  that  he  would  him- 
self keep  back,  and  allow  Macheng  to  fall  into  the  snare. 
But  Khame  at  once  gave  notice  to  Macheng,  who  ordered 
his  men  not  to  assemble  in  the  public  court-yard  until 
Sekhome's  adherents  had  first  taken  their  places.     Fras- 


FLIGHT  OF  SEKHOME.  449 

trated  in  the  scheme  which  he  had  laid,  Sekhome  still 
thought  it  possible  to  accomplish  the  main  object  which  he 
had  in  view, — the  death  of  a  few  of  his  chief  opponents. 
He  therefore  gave  notice  to  his  men  that  when  he  as- 
saulted one  of  Macheng's  men  in  the  court-yard,  this  was 
to  be  the  signal  of  a  general  attack  upon  them,  and 
especially  upon  their  leader^. 

Sekhome  accordingly  advanced  into  the  yard  at  the 
head  of  his  men,  and,  striking  one  of  Macheng*s  men, 
felled  him  to  the  ground.  But  his  followers  had  not  the 
courage  to  support  this  bold  course  in  the  face  of  those 
who  were  prepared  to  receive  them.  Or,  perhaps,  they  saw 
an  easier  way  out  of  their  difficulty;  for,  closing  round 
Sekhome,  they  advised  him  to  flee !  With  only  a  single 
attendant,  the  cjuef  now  fled  from  the  town,  and  took  refuge 
in  the  mountain.  The  assembly  was  never  held.  When 
the  chief  struck  the  head  man  of  Macheng,  the  people  rose 
in  a  body,  and  went  "  every  man  to  his  own  house." 

That  evening  a  solitary  figure  was  observed  descending 
the  mountain  near  to  my  house.  It  was  Sekhome.  He 
could  no  longer  trust  his  own  people ;  he  knew  he  could 
still  trust  the  missionary.  He  seemed  relieved  when  he 
entered  the  house.  I  had  now  a  glorious  opportunity  of 
rewarding  good  for  evil,  and  took  advantage  of  it  I 
gave  him  refreshments,  and  he  sat  down  at  my  fireside. 
We  had  a  long  conversation,  in  course  of  which  I  re- 
called to  his  mind  an  interview  which  I  had  had  with 
him  before  he  began  to  quarrel  with  his  sons.  From  some 
remarks  which  he  had  then  made  to  me,  I  was  led  to  see 
that  his  mind  was  being  poisoned  against  his  eldest  sons ; 
and  I  took  occasion  most  solemnly  to  warn  him  against 
being  led  away  by  designing  men  trom  loving  and  confiding 
in  his  own  children.  "  Did  I  not  assure  you,"  I  asked,  "that 
Kiiame  would  never  seek  to  supplant  you  as  chief;  but 

2f 


1 


450  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

that  if  you  turned  against  your  own  children,  whom  God 
had  given  to  support  and  defend  you,  evil  would  inevitably 
overtake  you  ]  You  forgot  my  words,  and  those  whose  advice 
you  followed,  and  who  urged  you  on  to  fight  with  your  own 
sons,  have  this  day  forsaken  you  and  cast  you  off.  Not- 
withstanding all  the  bitter  words  which  you  have  spoken, 
your  best  friends  in  Shoshong  to-day  are  the  sons  ^om 
you  have  so  cruelly  used."  That  night  Sekhome  fled  with 
only  three  or  four  attendants.  Not  believing  that  Ma- 
cheng  would  allow  him  to  drive  away  his  flocks  and  herds 
in  peace,  Sekhome  hurried  them  into  the  tsetse,  destroying 
them  without  any  cause ;  for  Macheng  publicly  announced 
that  he  would  not  interfere  with  the  removal  of  catUe 
which  were  the  private  property  of  his  brother.  At  pre- 
sent Sekhome  is  a  refugee  in  the  town  of  Mokhosi,  a  chief 
residing  near  Kolobeng. 

To  a  writer  of  fiction  it  would  be  easy  to  construct  a 
more  telling  story  than  that  of  this  "  house  divided  agunst 
itself."  The  vengeance  of  Heaven  might  be  introduced  as 
falling  upon  the  persecutor.  The  disciples  might  be  ex- 
hibited as  dying  resignedly  for  the  sake  of  their  Lord  amid 
the  scornful  taunts  of  the  heathen.  In  such  a  stoiy  we 
should  be  careful  to  keep  the  Christians  separate  from  the 
heathen.  But  having  to  narrate  facts  and  not  to  compose 
fiction,  I  have  had  to  describe  a  struggle  in  which  not 
more  than  half  a  dozen  lost  their  lives,  and  these  neither 
Christians  nor  leading  persecutors.  And  I  have  had  to 
relate  that  one  of  the  chief  difficulties  and  trials  of  the  posi- 
tion of  the  "people  of  the  Word  of  God,"  was  that  ther 
were  surrounded  by  some  personal  friends  who  were  ni> 
friends  of  the  new  religion. 

It  will  at  least  appear  from  this  narrative,  that  our 
work  at  Shoshong  was  carried  on  for  a  considerable 
period  under  adverse  circumstances.     We  were  thankAiI, 


FLIGHT  OF  SEKHOME.  451 

indeed,  that  we  were  not  expelled  and  the  buildings  on  the 
station  destroyed.  In  the  end,  however,  the  missionary 
was  the  only  public  character  who  succeeded  in  keeping 
his  place  in  the  midst  of  so  many  plots  and  counter  plots. 
By  the  blessing  of  God  he  was  able  to  secure  and  to  retain 
the  confidence  of  the  people.  He  came  at  length  to  be 
recognised  as  the  friend  of  all  and  the  enemy  of  none.  He 
was  defamed  and  persecuted  by  Sekhome,  yet  that  chief 
was  in  reality  his  jealous  guardian  against  the  over-zealous 
enmity  which  he  himself  had  excited.  He  restrained  his 
people  with  the  promise  that  he  would  expel  the  supposed 
evil-doer;  but  he  could  never  summon  up  resolution  to 
give  "  the  teacher "  his  orders  to  depart  from  the  town. 
Lest,  however,  evil  might  befall  him,  he  tried  to  frighten 
him  away.  And  when  the  chiefs  own  day  of  calamity 
came,  he  had  no  hesitation  in  repairing  to  the  missionary's 
house ;  he  counted  upon  a  kindly  reception  there.  The 
Christian  life  and  character  were  a  new  force  in  the  town  of 
the  Bamangwato.  It  was  a  thing  to  be  wondered  at — per- 
haps admired.  It  was  exhibited  not  only  by  the  mission- 
ary, but  by  their  own  countrymen  who  had  "  entered  the 
Word  of  God."  The  Christians  had  headed  the  attack  on 
the  Matebele,  and  in  defence  of  their  homes,  but  had  refused 
supremacy  in  the  town  when  it  was  to  be  obtained  by 
parricide.  When  driven  from  their  home,  they  had  acted 
only  in  self-defence.  When  conquered  and  brought  back 
to  the  town  they  remained  steadfast  to  their  principles. 
One  explanation  which  they  gave  of  this  new  kind  of  life 
was,  that  I  was  a  potent  wizard,  and  had  cast  my  spells 
upon  the  young  chiefs  and  the  other  Christians.  Thank 
God,  the  spell  was  a  higher  and  a  purer  one — the  world- 
conquering  spell  of  the  love  of  Jesus  Christ.  They  had 
seen  the  Lord  HimseK,  and  were  seeking  to  serve  Him. 
With  all  their  failings  and  mistakes,  the  Christian  party. 


I 


452  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

and  especially  their  leaders  Khame  and  his  brother  Kha- 
mane,  exhibited  during  this  struggle  a  spirit  which  is 
worthy  of  the  admiration  of  the  Christian  Church.^ 

1  The  following  extract  from  a  work  wldch  has  not  been  translated  into 
English,  will  show  what  impression  these  young  chiefis  produced  on  the 
mind  of  an  educated  gentleman  and  man  of  science.  Dr.  Fritsch  paid  a 
brief  visit  to  Shoshong  in  1865.  "  I  am  glad  by  my  acquaintanceship  with 
Khame  to  have  had  an  opportunity  of  mentioning  a  black,  whom  I  would 
under  no  circumstances  be  ashamed  to  call  my  friend.  The  simple,  modest, 
and  at  the  same  time  noble  deportment  of  this  chief's  son,  awoke  adelig^ 
ful  feeling  which  tiU  then  I  had  never  experienced  in  the  company  of 
black  men.  I  could  thereby  convince  myself  that  it  was  really  not  the 
colour  that  prejudiced  me  against  the  Ethiopian  race.  The  other  brother, 
Khamane,  in  acquiring  knowledge,  is  said  to  distinguish  himself  sUU  inort 
by  his  intelligence ;  but  he  has  not  laid  aside  the  prying  curiosity  of  the 
Bechuanas,  although  he  also  contrasts  strongly  with  the  rest  of  his  tribe." 
—Drci  Jahre  in  Sad  A/rika,  von  Gustev  Fritsch  (Breslau,  1868). 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD — ^BUILDING  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

In  1867  gold  was  discovered  on  the  Tatie  river,  on  the 
road  leading  from  Shoshong  to  the  Matebele  country.  Mr. 
Mauch,  a  Gennan  traveller,  who  had  for  several  years  given 
his  attention  to  the  geology  and  mineralogy  of  the  interior, 
was  the  first  to  observe  that  the  quartz  rocks  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Tatie  river  were  auriferous.  Neict  year 
the  same  gentleman  also  discovered  gold  in  Mashona-land, 
some  300  miles  north-east  of  Tatie.  In  both  cases  there 
were  evidences  that  the  mines  had  been  previously  worked. 
In  Mashona-land  the  digging  has  been  carried  on  recently 
by  the  Mashona,  for  the  purpose  of  trading  with  the  Portu- 
guese on  the  east  coast.  But  the  mines  at  Tatie,  so  far  as 
I  could  ascertain,  have  not  been  worked  within  the  times 
of  native  tradition.  "Whether  districts  intervening  between 
Tatie  and  Mashona-land  are  also  auriferous,  or  what  extent 
of  territory  in  either  of  these  districts  yields  the  precious 
metal,  is  yet  matter  of  speculation.  Nor  is  this  problem 
likely  to  be  soon  solved ;  for  as  soon  as  the  Matebele  found 
out  the  value  of  gold  in  the  eyes  of  Europeans,  they  be- 
came so  jealous  of  the  movements  of  the  traders  and  hunters 
in  the  country,  that  the  latter  could  not  pick  up  a  stone 
without  exciting  hostile  remark. 

Iron,  or,  as  the  diggers  call  it,  emery,  is  found  with  the 
gold  at  Tatie,  and  copper  has  also  been  dug  up  in  that 
neighbourhood. 


454         NOKTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

The  discovery  of  gold  at  Tatie  produced  some  excite- 
ment at  Sboshong.  While  the  specimens  were  being  tested  in 
the  colony,  and  before  we  were  ftdly  assured  that  gold  was 
really  contained  in  the  quartz,  an  envoy  arrived  from  the 
Transvaal  Government,  specially  empowered  to  treat  with 
Moselekatse  and  Macheng  with  reference  to  the  gold-yield- 
ing districts.  The  ambassador  was  in  haste,  and  merely 
announced  to  Macheng  in  an  informal  mann^  the  burden 
of  his  errand,  and  the  request  which  he  said  he  would  make 
of  the  chief  on  his  return  from  the  Matebele  country.  In 
the  meantime  Macheng  would  have  time  to  consider  the 
proposal,  which  was  simply  that  he  would  present  the  Trans- 
vaal Government  with  any  daim  which  he  might  have  in 
the  gold-pelding  country  as  chief  of  the  Bamangwato.  In 
return  for  this,  the  envoy  said  the  Bepublic  would  pledge 
itself  in  any  quarrel  which  might  arise  between  the  digg^^ 
and  the  Bamangwato  to  take  the  side  of  the  latter,  and  to 
protect  them  from  all  '^  foreigners  and  bad  people."  Ma- 
cheng is  somewhat  slow  in  his  movements,  mental  and 
physical,  but  there  seemed  to  be  something  like  a  smile  on 
his  face  as  he  listened  to  this  proposal  The  envoy  had  no 
success  with  Moselekatse.  The  chief  positively  forbade  the 
settlement  of  any  white  men  in  his  dominions,  without 
which,  of  course,  digging  gold  would  be  impossible.  And 
when  the  ambassador  returned  to  Shoshong  he  was  equally 
disappointed.  Macheng  had  duly  improved  the  time  given 
him  for  reflection,  and  had  written  to  the  Governor  at  the 
Cape,  who  is  also  Her  Majesty's  High  Commissioner  in 
South  Africa,  requesting  his  advice,  and  offering  to  the 
English  Government,  on  certain  conditions,  the  supremacy 
in  the  gold  region  of  Tatie. 

To  show  what  latitude  of  action  the  Transvaal  Govern- 
ment allows  itself  I  may  just  add  that  this  want  of  success 
on  the  part  of  their  envoy  had  no  effect  whatever  at  head- 


DISCOVEKY  OF  GOLD.  455 

quarters.  It  would  seem  indeed  that  the  executive  were  too 
excited  to  wait  the  result  of  their  own  diplomacy.  Or 
perhaps  they  felt  already  assured  that  their  ambassador 
would  be  hailed  as  a  deliverer  and  protector  in  every  native 
town,  and  would  return  with  the  title-deeds  of  the  supposed 
El  Dorado  in  his  waggon-chest.  At  any  rate,  they  practi- 
caUy  ignored  both  the  ambassador  and  his  mission,  and 
issued  in  his  absence  a  proclamation,  in  which  the  whole 
country  was  claimed  to  belong  to  the  Republic,  "  from 
Moselekatse's  first  post "  (the  name  of  the  place  was  not 
even  known,  or  its  locality)  "  to  Lake  Ngami,  and  from 
Lake  Ngami  southward  to  the  Lang  Bei*gen  near  Kuru- 
man."  This  comprehensive  proclamation  introduced  into 
the  Republic  some  thirteen  independent  native  tribes,  none 
of  which  had  ever  been  consulted  in  the  matter ! 

I  may  just  mention  that  the  chief,  Macheng,  was  not 
advised  by  me,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  to  write  to  the 
Governor  at  the  Cape,  offering  to  the  English  (Jovemment 
the  possession  of  the  gold-fields.  I  was  indeed  on  the 
point  of  recommending  this  course,  when  the  Dutch  am- 
bassador left ;  but  knowing  the  native  character,  I  judged 
that  it  was  not  my  duty  as  a  missionary  to  volunteer  ad- 
vice on  the  subject.  I  imagined  that  if  I  strongly  advo- 
cated the  claims  of  the  English  immediately  after  the  good 
offices  of  the  Dutch  had  been  tendered,  the  chief  might 
feel  inclined  to  set  me  down  along  with  the  Dutch- 
man, as  a  political  and  interested  canvasser  for  my  own 
Government  But  there  were  numerous  English-speaking 
travellers  and  hunters  passing  through  Shoshong  and  resid- 
ing in  it,  who  had  no  hesitation  in  strongly  recommending 
the  chief  to  take  this  course.  The  history  of  Califomia  and 
Australia  was  related  to  Macheng,  and  extracts  from  the  Cape 
and  Natal  newspapers  were  translated  to  him,  reporting  that 
hundreds  of  men  were  then  on  their  way  north  to  dig  this 


1 


456  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

wonderful  tsipi  (metal).  One  evening,  while  on  my  way  to 
attend  a  case  of  sickness  in  the  town,  I  was  met  by  the  chief 
at  the  head  of  a  party  of  men.  He  said  he  had  very  particular 
business  with  me.  We  went  to  his  house,  and  I  found  that 
he  was  anxious  to  write  at  once  to  the  Governor,  and 
wished  me  to  act  as  his  scribe.  Now,  although  it  was 
generally  believed  that  the  metal  which  had  excited  so 
much  speculation  was  gold,  yet  at  this  time  this  rather  im- 
portant question  had  not  been  quite  settled.  I  explained 
this  to  the  chief,  and  said  that  I  had  no  wish  to  be  con- 
nected with  what  might  afterwards  bear  the  appearance  of 
a  hoax.  I  stipulated  also  that  if  I  wrote  for  him,  he  must 
previously  call  a  public  assembly  of  the  Bamangwato,  and 
explain  what  he  was  doing  to  his  head  men,  and  obtain 
their  consent  to  it.  Macheng  was  opposed  to  this ;  but  in 
the  end  yielded.  His  speech  to  the  assembled  councillors 
was  not  very  complimentary  to  them.  He  declared  he  did 
not  think  their  judgment  of  any  consequence,  but  the 
missionary  had  wished  them  to  be  brought  together. 
"  Now,  you  grey-headed  men,"  he  said,  "  who  speak  of  hav- 
ing lived  at  Seroe,  and  before  whom  we  who  are  still  young 
are  almost  afraid  to  open  our  mouths,  yonder  come  the 
white  men — ^hundreds  in  number.  They  come  in  waggons, 
on  horseback,  on  foot.  They  come  to  dig  the  tsipi  found 
at  Tatie.  What  are  we  to  do  1  That  is  the  question  be- 
fore you  to-day.  Let  us  now  see  that  you  are  wise  as  wdl 
as  old.  But  speak  out  all  that  you  have  got  to  say,  for  the 
missionary  is  afraid  of  being  afterwards  blamed  by  the 
Bamangwato  if  he  assist  us  in  any  course  which  is  not 
approved  by  us  alL" 

The  head  men  were  apparently  at  a  loss  what  to  say. 
One  after  another  stood  up  and  praised  the  chief,  and  said 
that  no  doubt  what  he  proposed  was  the  best.  But  at 
length  one  old  man  rose  and  exclaimed,  ^Bamangwato, 


DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD.  457 

have  you  thrown  aside  your  spears  before  the  enemy  ap- 
proaches ]  You,  who  have  now  guns,  and  dress  like  white 
men,  will  you  not  fire  one  shot  for  your  country  ?  This  is 
surely  very  wonderful !  In  the  olden  time  we  fled  or  we 
fought,  but  to-day  we  are  asked  to  open  our  arms  to  the 
enemy.  Bamangwato  !  I  say.  Let  us  fight."  The  old  man 
feat  down  amid  the  laughter  of  all  present,  for  it  was  well 
known  that  for  many  years  his  combats  had  been  in  the 
council-room  and  not  on  the  battle-field.  Pelutona  made 
the  speech  of  the  day.  He  said  "  the  missionary  did  not 
wish  to  assist  their  chief  without  their  knowledge  and  con- 
sent. They  could  not  deny  that  they  had  given  him  cause 
to  mistrust  them."  And  then  he  went  on  to  detail  the 
sinister  counsel  which  he  himself  had  given  during  the  dis- 
pute between  Sekhome  and  Khame.  «  He  was  a  big  man, 
and  would  not  eat  his  words ;  but  of  course  all  these  dis- 
putes had  passed,  and  the  missionary  was  still  there  to 
befriend  them;  and  he  for  one  felt  quite  inclined  to  be 
guided  by  the  chief  in  this  matter.  Were  they  not  seeing 
things  which  their  fathers  had  not  dreamt  of?  Those  who 
spoke  of  fighting  were  evidently  fools." 

The  report  arriving  soon  after  this  meeting  that  the 
nuggets  had  been  duly  tested  in  the  colony,  and  had  been 
pronounced  to  be  gold,  I  embodied  the  views  of  the  chief 
in  a  letter  to  Sir  Philip  Wodehouse,  who  was  then  Gover- 
nor at  the  Cape.  The  answer  of  his  Excellency  was  satis- 
£Eu;tory  to  Macheng  as  far  as  it  went.  But  it  did  not  go 
far.  The  Governor  was  responsible  to  the  Home  Govern- 
ment, and  it  would  seem  to  be  a  maxim  in  Downing  Street 
that,  whatever  Power  may  hereafter  be  intimately  allied 
with  the  advancing  and  predominating  Anglo-Saxon  race 
in  Southern  Africa,  it  shall  not  be  England.  The  members 
of  the  Cape  Parliament  voted  money  to  equip  an  exploring 
party  to  survey  and  report  upon  the  newly  discovered  gold 


458  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  KIVER. 

regions.  But  the  executive  at  the  Cape,  or  the  Colonial 
Office  in  London,  was  not  in  the  same  mood  as  the  Cape 
Parliament.  Although  the  cost  of  the  exploring  expedi- 
tion was  to  have  been  borne  entirely  by  the  colony,  it  was 
delayed  for  one  reason  after  another,  and  finally  given  up. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Cape  Colony  and  Natal  were 
naturally  much  interested  in  this  discovery.  Bat  the 
Tatie  river  and  Mashona-land  were  too  far  from  the 
coast  to  be  visited  by  a  "  rush  "  of  diggers.  Were  these 
districts  but  a  hundred,  as  they  are  more  than  a  thousand, 
miles  from  the  southern  coast,  parties  of  diggers  would,  in  a 
short  period,  have  scattered  themselves  over  an  extensive 
territory,  and  "  prospected "  the  localities  which  yield  tiie 
precious  metaL  On  the  Tatie  river  no  signal  success  has 
attended  the  efforts  of  exploring  parties.  In  Australia, 
when  gold  was  discovered,  the  process  of  didntegnUdon 
had  made  great  progress;  and  the  gold  was  found  near 
the  surface  on  low-lying  tracts  of  country.  Poor  people 
had  thus  a  reasonable  prospect  of  obtaining  gold  with  only 
a  digger's  cradle.  At  the  Tatie,  the  gold  was  found  only 
in  very  small  quantities  in  alluvial  soil  It  was  still 
embedded  in  the  rock ;  and  to  crush  the  quarts  required 
some  capital  A  company,  which  has  its  head-office  in 
London,  carries  on  this  work  of  quartz-crushing  at  Tatie, 
and  I  understand  recent  reports  speak  favourably  of  their 
success. 

It  is  somewhat  singular  that  the  colony  of  Natal  was  a 
country  lying  waste  at  the  time  of  its  occupation  by  the 
English ;  although,  of  course,  claimed  by  Tshaka  who  had 
destroyed  its  former  inhabitants.  The  Free  State  abo^ 
before  its  occupation  by  Europeans,  was  described  by  eaify 
travellers  as  one  wide  wilderness,  having  in  the  districts 
beyond  Griqua-land  scarcely  an  inhabitant.  Still  fiirtber 
north,  Moselekatse   swept  what  is  now  the  Transvaal 


DISCOVERY  OF  GOLD.  459 

region  of  its  Bechuana  inhabitants  before  he  in  torn  gave 
place  to  the  DutcL  Now  Mashona-land  to  the  north-east 
of  the  Matebele  has  also  been  unfortunately  depopulated 
by  the  forces  of  Moselekatse.  It  is  perhaps  the  finest 
country  in  Southern  Africa.  The  Mashona  work  the 
cotton  which  this  region  yields^  and  I  have  seen  blankets 
and  other  cloths  which  they  themselves  have  made  froxa 
it.  It  is  affirmed  that  the  white  quartz  rock  in  which  the 
gold  is  there  found  extends  over  a  wide  extent  of  country. 
Now  as  the  colony  of  Natal  is  a  check  upon  the  heathenism 
of  Kaffraria,  confining  it  to  the  south,  and  localizing  it, 
so  would  an  English  colony  in  Mashona-land  have  an 
equally  beneficial  effect  upon  the  Matebele  and  other 
native  races.  And  if  Englishmen  were  once  in  num- 
bers to  the  north  of  the  restless  Dutchmen,  the  latter 
would  give  up  their  search  for  the  Land  of  Canaan,  and 
be  content  with  their  present  residences.  In  their  north- 
ward movement  they  always  complain  of  the  increasing 
**  uitlanders,"  or  foreigners  coming  from  the  soutL  Let 
there  be  once  Englishmen  to  the  north  of  them,  and  their 
spirit  of  restlessness  would  be  checked,  and  there  would  be 
the  hope  of  a  more  speedy  amalgamation  of  the  races  of 
Englishmen  and  Dutchmen  in  Southern  Africa.  A  ques- 
tion of  the  first  importance  to  the  Europeans  who  have 
already  advanced  far  northwards,  is  to  obtain  a  sea-port 
nearer  than  either  Natal  or  the  Cape  Colony.  Were  it 
possible  to  find  such  an  outlet  for  the  products  of  the 
country  to  the  east  of  Mashona-land,  the  occupation  of 
that  devastated  but  beautiful  country  might  not  be  far 
distant. 

Early  in  1867, 1  commenced  to  build  a  church  at  Sho- 
shong,  having  secured  the  services  of  two  bricklayers.  In 
the  absence  of  a  more  qualified  workman,  I  undertook  the 
wood  work    as    my  department      Macheng   was    kind 


460  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER 

enough  to  furnish  me  with  two  regiments  of  men  to  assist 

me  in  felling  the  timber.     When  I  followed  them  to  the 

forest  I  found  they  had  cut  down,  according  to  my  orders, 

some  tall   trees,  but  in  their  ignorance  had  afterwards 

destroyed  the  timber  by  dividing  each  tree  into  several 

pieces  1     They  said  they  had  done  so  for  the  convenience 

of  those  who  would  have  to  lift  the  trees  into  a  waggon. 

I  explained  to  them  that  they  must  leave  the  trees  at  their 

greatest  length,  and  expressed  my  fear  that  we  should 

not  find  a  sufficient  number  long  enough  to  span  the  new 

church.     My  assistants,  who  were  chiefly  old  men,  loudly 

expressed  their  disapprobation  and  incredulity.     "Why 

cut  such  large  trees?    It  was  wrong  to  fell  them  with 

an  axe.     Hitherto  they  had  always  been  burned  down 

when   a  man  wanted   to    clear  a  field  for  cultivation. 

After  they  were  felled,  it  was   evident  that  no  human 

beings  could  ever  lift  them.     Macheng  and  the  missionaiy 

had  laid  their  heads  together  to  impose  a  burden  on  them 

to  no  purpose,''  etc.     In  the  end  I  had  to  hire  other  m^i 

before  a  sufficient  quantity  of  timber  was  cut  down.     In 

them  I  had  more  willing  assistants ;  but  the  work  of  the 

backwoodsman  was  hard  for  such  people.     I  encouraged 

them  by  slaughtering  an  ox  for  their  use ;  and  Khamime^ 

who  accompanied  me  to  the  forest,  killed  a  giraffe.     The 

tall  and  resinous  tambootie  tree,' which  I  selected  for  beams 

and  rafters,  was  easily  split.     The  partially  dressed  loigs 

we  conveyed  to  Shoshong  in  waggons  which  were  kindfy 

lent  me  by  both  Europeans  and  natives.     A  pit-«aw  was 

next  set  to  work,  and  after  a  few  lessons  two  raw  natives 

were  able  to  use  it,  and  sawed  almost  all  the  timber  §or 

the  church.     Macheng  again  assisted  me  by  ordering  two 

regiments  of  women  to  cut  bundles  of  grass  for  thatcL 

The  building,  which  holds  some  500  people,  was  finisfaed 

by  the  end  of  the  year.     There  are  no  pews  or  forms ; 


BUILDING  OF  THE  CHUBCH.  461 

the  people  bring  their  camp-stools,  or  sit  on  the  ground  as 
they  are  accustomed  to  do  elsewhere.  A  pulpit  was 
afterwards  made  for  the  church  by  Mr.  T.  Wood,  who  was 
one  of  the  party  of  hunters  whose  sudden  death  from 
fever  in  Mashona-land  has  been  mentioned  in  a  former 
chapter.  The  Europeans  trading  at  Shoshong,  or  annually 
passing  the  station,  subscribed  towards  defraying  the  ex- 
pense of  building  the  church,  and  some  of  the  natives  also 
gave  ostrich  feathers  and  cattle,  so  that  only  a  small  share 
of  the  cost  of  the  building  fell  upon  the  Missionary  Society. 

When  the  church  was  finished,  I  resolved  to  celebrate 
its  opening  in  a  manner  which  would  give  me  at  once  an 
opportunity  of  publicly  thanking  Macheng  for  his  assist- 
ance in  procuring  both  wood  and  grass,  and  also  of 
addressing  the  old  men  of  the  town,  who,  as  a  class,  gave 
least  attention  to  the  preaching  of  the  gospeL  I  thought 
I  could  copy  a  little  from  their  own  usages,  and  along  with 
some  instruction  provide  for  them  an  entertainment  such 
as  they  are  accustomed  to  on  occasions  of  rejoicing. 
Having  consulted  an  **  authority  "  on  such  matters,  I  found 
that  my  project  would  be  entirely  orthodox  and  agreeable 
fit)m  a  native  point  of  view.  I  accoixlingly  gave  the 
invitation  to  Macheng  '*  to  meet  me  with  his  people  in  the 
new  church  on  Tuesday  the  7th  of  January,  to  see  the 
house  which  they  had  assisted  me  to  build,  to  hear  why  it 
was  built^  and  to  partake  of  the  ox  with  which  I  thanked 
them  for  their  assistance." 

Early  on  Tuesday  morning  the  people  began  to  assemble 
at  the  churcL  Each  division  of  the  town  came  headed  by 
its  chie£  Heathen  men  with  hoary  heads,  toothless  and 
tottering  with  old  age,  came  leaning  on  their  staffs.  Full- 
grown  men — ^the  haughty,  the  cunning,  the  fierce— came 
with  those  younger  in  years,  of  brighter  eye  and  more 
hopeful  mien.     As  to  their  clothing,  the  heathen  dress 


462  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

admits  of  little  variety.  But  many  appeared  dressed 
partly  or  wholly  in  European  attire,  and  here  there  was 
variety  enough.  We  had  the  usual  members  of  the  con- 
gregation, some  of  whom  were  neatly  dressed.  But  sticklers 
for  ^'  the  proprieties "  would  have  been  shocked  to  see  a 
man  moving  in  the  crowd  who  considered  himself  well 
dressed,  although  wearing  a  shirt  only;  another  with 
trousers  only ;  a  third  with  a  black  **  swallow-tail,'*  closely 
buttoned  to  the  chin — ^the  only  piece  of  European  clothing 
which  the  man  wore ;  another  with  a  soldier  s  red  coat, 
overshadowed  by  an  immense  wide-awake  hat,  the  rest  of 
the  dress  being  articles  of  heathen  wear,  etc.  etc 

The  church-doors  were  thrown  open,  and  many  starange 
remarks  were  made  with  reference  to  the  building.  One 
man  said  '^What  a  splendid  place  to  drink  beer  in!" 
another,  ^'  What  a  capital  pen  for  sheep  and  goats !"  and  a 
third  declared  that  with  a  few  people  inside  th^  ooiikl 
defy  the  Matebele  nation. 

I  observed  an  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  some  of  the 
old  men  to  enter  the  church.  Thinking  it  arose  only  firam 
superstitious  feelings,  I  went  out  and  persuaded  them  to  go 
in.  I  learned  afterwards  that  these  dark-minded  people  had 
conceived  that  foul  play  was  that  day  to  be  enacted  by  the 
Christians  in  revenge  for  their  previous  hardships  and 
sufferings  at  the  hands  of  the  heathen.  They  could  not 
believe  that  all  had  been  forgiven ;  they  could  only  mea- 
sure other  minds  by  their  own.  And  so  they  had  come 
uUy  prepared  for  the  worst,  and  the  hand  which  was  ccst- 
cealed  below  their  mantle  grasped  a  large  knife  or  dagger, 
which  they  hoped  would  stand  them  in  good  stead  when 
**  the  people  of  the  Word  of  Qod "  rose  on  them,  within 
the  new  church,  and  sought  to  take  their  lives.  The  unsns- 
pecting  confidence  with  which  I  spoke  to  these  men,  and 
invited  and  pressed  them  to  enter  the  House  of  Qod, 


BUILDING  OF  THE  CHUECH.  463 

must  surely  have  touched  their  treacherous  and  suspicious 
hearts.  The  simple  address,  the  solemn  prayer,  followed 
by  open-hearted  hospitality,  must  surely  have  suggested  to 
those  heathen  men  that  the  thoughts  of  the  Christians 
were  not  their  thoughts. 

I  held  no  regular  service  in  the  church,  for  had  I  done 
so  some  would  have  said  I  got  them  to  be  present  at  it 
under  false  pretences.     My  short  address  was  composed  of 
thoughts  which  had  been  gathering  in  my  mind  for  years, 
but  which  I  never  had  an  opportunity  to  deliver  before 
such  an  audience.      The  attention   of   the  people  was 
thoroughly  arrested  during  the  whole  of  the  time  I  was 
speaking.     I  concluded  my  part  of  the  engagements  of  the 
morning  by  solemn  prayer,  and  then  called  upon  Macheng 
to  speak,  if  he  desired  to  do  so.     Knowing  the  caution  and 
reticence  of  his  race,  I  was  not  surprised  that  the  chief 
declined    to   speak    in    such    circumstances.      We    now 
adjourned   to  the  vicinity  of  our  kitchen,   where   Mrs. 
Mackenzie  and  the  servants  had  had  a  busy  time  cooking 
the  ox,  which  I  had  slaughtered  as  soon  as  I  had  received 
Macheng's  acceptance   of  the  invitation.     The  pots  and 
dishes  of  all  kinds,  with  the  meat,  I  showed  to  Macheng, 
and  requested  him  to  divide  their  contents.     A  consider- 
able quantity  of  sour  milk,  and  a  few  camp-kettles  full  of 
tea,  completed  the  bill  of  fare  for  this  Bechuana  breakfast- 
party.     Tables  and  chairs,  knives  and  forks,  bread  and 
v^etables,  we  were   content  to  regard  as   superfluities, 
after-thoughts ;  the  first  and  main  thought  was  the  beef, 
and  to  that  attention  was  given.     It  was  feared  by  one 
who  did  not  wish  to  give  a  stingy  entertainment  that  one 
ox  would  not  be  enough  for  so   many  guests,  but  my 
"  authority  "  decided  otherwise.     He  said  the  chief  himself 
killed  only  one  ox  at  a  time ;  it  would  therefore  be  over- 
lavish  in  me  to  kiH  more.     My  ^^ authority"  was  right. 


464  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 


-J 


^    I 


Although  no  miracle  was  performed,  every  one  seemed  to    ^*f 
get  something ;  every  one  was  pleased. 

As  the  feast  proceeded,  it  was  announced  to  Macheng 
that  a  certain  head  man  had  been  overlooked.  What  was 
to  be  done  1  The  meat  was  gone — ^the  sour  milk  had  dis- 
appeared :  but,  happy  thought  I  the  tea  remained.  Hand- 
ing the  man  a  large  quantity  of  tea,  the  chief  said  to  him :  >^ 
^*  Drink,  for  there  is  no  longer  aught  to  eat.  The  tea  was 
prepared  at  the  same  fire  as  the  meat ;  it  is  therefore  qmte 
the  same  thing ;  drink,  for  tea  is  your  part  of  the  feast" 
The  man  quietly  sat  down  with  his  camp-kettle  of  tea,  and 
drank  it  all. 

After  the  people  had  departed,  Macheng,  Khame,  and 
Khamane  sat  down  at  our  table  to  a  part  of  the  same  ox — 
this  time,  however,  eaten  with  knife  and  fork. 

I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  best  impression  was 
produced  on  the  people's  minds  by  the  doings  of  that 
morning.  I  learned  afterwards  that  for  days  my  address 
was  the  subject  of  remark  in  the  kotla,  the  majority  de- 
claring that  "the  words"  were  unanswerable.  A  few 
inveterate  heathens,  however,  said  "  they  could  see  nothiDg 
in  the  words ;  they  thought  they  had  been  called  to  churdi 
to  assist  in  praying  for  rain,  and  not  to  listen  to  such 
strange  doctrines."  On  the  whole,  the  result  of  the  me^ 
ing  was  that  heathenism  did  not  carry  the  high  head  that 
it  was  wont  to  do. 

In  order  to  follow  up  the  good  impression  produced,  I 
began  a  regular  course  of  district  visitation.  I  appeared 
every  Wednesday  evening  accompanied  by  one  or  other  of 
the  leading  members  of  the  congregation,  at  the  kotla 
of  the  head  man  of  a  division  of  the  town,  and  re- 
quested him  to  call  his  people  together  in  his  court-yard  to 
hear  the  Word  of  God.  In  general  the  head  men  wtfe 
willing  to  do  this.     In  every  case  they  consented  to  do  it» 


BUILDING  OF  THE  CHDRCH.  465 

I  after  some  patient  waiting.  Many  of  them  were  averse  to 
I  calling  the  women,  who  are  not  usually  allowed  to  enter 
:  the  court-yard.  This  point  was  also  yielded ;  but  the 
'■  women,  who  aaw  the  reluctance  of  their  lords,  aat  down  at 
the  very  entrance  of  the  kotla.  The  little  children  ran 
about  in  all  directions,  sometimes  planting  themselves  in 
open-mouthed  wonder  opposite  the  strange  white  man  to 
whom  all  the  grown-up  people  were  listening.  The 
majority  of  these  Wednesday  evening  congregations  were 
people  who  did  not  come  to  church.  To  them  also  was 
the  gospel  preached — "  to  every  creature,"  was  the  Divine 
commission.  Sometimes  as  many  as  three  hundred  came 
together;  in  smaller  districts  the  audience  would  number 
Bome  thirty  or  forty.  One  result  of  these  district-meetings 
was  to  increase  the  number  of  those  who  desired  to  learn 
lo  read  for  themselves  the  Word  of  God. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

"  BY  LITTLE  AND  LnTLE."  ^ 

"Where  the  Greek  saw  barbarians,  we  see  brethren ;  where  the  Qredc 
saw  heroes  and  demi-gods,  we  see  our  parents  and  anoestofs; 
where  the  Greek  saw  nations  {f9yv)i  ^®  ^®  mankind,  toiling  and  soffer- 
ing,  separated  by  oceans,  divided  by  language,  and  severed  by  national 
enmity, — ^yet  evermore  tending,  under  a  divine  control,  towards  the  fol- 
filment  of  that  inscrutable  purpose  for  which  the  world  was  created, 
and  man  placed  in  it,  bearing  the  image  of  God.** — Max  Huelleb, 
"  Comparative  Mythology,"  Oaford  jBssays,  1856. 

The  missionary  in  modem  times  has  an  advantage  over 
his  predecessors  of  a  more  ignorant  age.  Devoted  ser- 
vants of  the  Church  of  Rome  hraved  every  danger  in  their 
work,  and  secured  from  the  ignorant  heathen  the  homage 
which  self-denial  and  purity  of  life  will  always  call  forth. 
But  the  monastic  life  was  unreal  and  unattainable  to  ^e 
mass  of  men.  The  people  gazed  upon  it  with  reverence 
from  a  distance.  There  was  much  in  such  a  system  to 
excite  their  homage  and  their  awe;  there  was  little  for 
them  to  copy.  The  missions  of  the  English  churches  have 
not  yet  reached  the  development  of  the  Boman  Catholic 
establishments.  Whether  or  not  a  model  Christian  village 
would  be  the  best  missionary  institution,  is  a  question  stiD 
before  the  churches.  But  at  present  the  life  of  the  mis- 
sionary is  such  as  can  be  copied  by  his  flock.  In  the 
mission-house  they  can  see  a  home  like  their  own,  only 
better  kept^  purer  and  sweeter.  While  the  missionaiy 
busies  himself  with  the  men,  his  wife  (if  he  is  fortanate 

1  Ezod.  zziiL  80. 


"  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE."  467 

enough  to  have  one)  teaches  the  women  to  sew  and  to  cut 
out  dresses,  and  prescribes  simple  medicines  for  themselves 
and  their  children  when  they  are  ill.  If  the  missionary 
among  the  men  has  the  strength  and  the  wisdom  of  an 
elder  brother,  his  wife  secures  the  confidence  and  affection 
of  the  women,  and,  by  her  own  example,  influences  them  to 
a  higher  and  a  purer  life.  The  life  of  the  mission-house  is 
attainable,  and  it  is  desirable,  even  in  the  eyes  of  the 
heathen.  After  being  shown,  at  their  own  request,  some 
of  the  rooms  of  our  house,  a  party  of  the  wives  of  petty 
chiefs  at  length  broke  out,  addressing  Mrs.  Mackenzie : 
"  Happy  wife  and  happy  mother  1  You  have  a  *  kingdom' 
here  of  your  own  I" 

I  may  here  describe  a  Sunday  at  Shoshong.     I  began 

the  day's  services  by  conducting  a  Bible-class,  which  was 

composed  of  all  who  could  read  the  New  Testament,  and 

of  others  who  sat  as  auditors.     A  chapter  or  portion  of 

Scripture  was  read  in  order  every  Sunday  by  those  present, 

after  which  I  questioned  them  on  what  they  had  been 

reading.     I  invited  them  also  to  put  questions  to  me.    By 

this  means  I  found  out  what  impression  the  Divine  words 

of  Scripture  produced  on  minds  whose  past  training  and 

habits  of  thought  had  been  so  different  from  my  own.     I 

have  been  saddened  by  the  vacant-minded  pupil,  who  had 

no  question  to  propound,  and  hardly  an  answer  to  give  to 

the  question  asked  by  me.     But  I  have  been  often  gratified 

with  a  ready  and  intelligent  answer,  and  sometimes  with  a 

question  which  evidenced  considerable  grasp  of  mind.    The 

narrative  parts  of  Scripture  were  always  read  with  the 

greatest  interest  by  the  class ;  their  estimate  of  actions  and 

of  characters  passing  before  us  was  often  put  in  a  fresh  and 

striking  manner.     I  regarded  my  Bible-class  as  one  of  the 

most  important  engagements  of  the  day.     The  morning 

service  which  followed  lasted  about  an  hour  and  a  quarter. 


468  KOBTH  OF  THE  OSAKGE  EIVES. 

In  the  afternoon  itwas  my  costom  to  go  down  to  the  ducfs 
conrt-yaid  and  hold  senrioe  there.    When  the  new  dmrdi 
was  heing  built  I  heard  the  complaint  that  the  site  was 
too  far  away  from  the  town,  and  that  I  most  not  be  snr- 
prised  if  many  old  people  did  not  attend.     This  was  stated 
by  those  who  attended  occasionally,  and  who  I  fancied 
were  not  sorry  to  have  what  seemed  a  toleraUe  excuse  for 
not  attending  at  aD.     I  promised  these  people,  howerer, 
that  I  should  obviate  all  difficulties  by  bringing  "the 
Word  ^  to  the  public  court-yard  of  the  town  on  the  Sunday 
afternoon.     I  had  thus  every  week  an   o^>ortunity  of 
addressing  both  those  who  were  halting  between  two 
opinions,  and  the  heathen  who  were  opposed  to  the  new 
doctrine,  but  who  would  not  always  rise  up  and  go  away, 
although  I  have  seen  them  occasionally  do  so.     I  had  also 
most  of  those  present  who  were  at  the  morning  service. 
We  began  by  singing  a  hymn  well  known  to  the  diurdi- 
going  part  of  my  audience.     The  heathen  have  a  keen 
sense  of  the  ridiculous,  and  the  name  they  sometimes  give 
for  hymn-singing,  ^go  bokwalela"  (to  utter  the  death-ciy), 
was  not  in  some  instances  altogether  undeserved.     When 
hymns  are  well  sung,  however,  they  are  much  admired, 
and  in  the  course  of  time  both  words  and  music  are 
impressed  on  the  minds  of  the  uninstructed  hearers.     In- 
stead of  reading  one  passage  of  Scripture  at  this  service, 
I  selected  a  number  of  verses  expressing  what  Christaans 
most  surely  believe.     The  object   I  had  before  me  was 
to  help   a  stranger  who   might   only  hear  me  once  to 
form  some  idea  of  the  faith  of  the  Christian  as  a  whde, 
and  also  by  the  reiteration  of  those  sublime  truths  every 
Sunday,    the   more  deeply   to  impress    them    upon   the 
minds  of  more  frequent  hearers.     This  form   or  lesson 
in  Scripture's  own  language  began  at  the  beginning,  nar- 
rating the   Creation  and  the  Fall      It  then    described 


"  BY  LITTLi:  AND  LITTLE."  469 

the  life  and  death  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
went  forward  to  the  time  when  every  man  shall  give 
an  account  of  himself  to  God.  It  contained  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, with  oiir  Saviour's  own  comments  on  some 
of  them.  The  dreadful  loss  and  ruin  of  the  rebellious 
— of  those  who  knew  their  Master^s  will  and  did  it  not — 
were  revealed  in  the  words  of  Him  who  is  Himself  to 
judge  the  quick  and  the  dead.  And  the  lesson  abounded 
with  declarations  of  God's  love  and  His  willingness  to 
pardon;  with  the  invitations  of  Jesus — ^words  which 
strike  even  heathen  as  unique  in  their  pathos;  and 
with  the  Divine  promise  to  bestow  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
sustain  and  to  deliver  all  who  desire  to  struggle  with  evil 
and  to  overcome  it.  These  and  other  truths  were  repeated 
in  the  hearing  of  all  who  happened  to  be  in  the  chiefs 
court-yard  at  Shoshong  on  Sunday  afternoon.  So  far  as  I 
am  able  to  judge,  such  a  selection  of  Scripture  is  produc- 
tive of  greater  result  in  the  enlightenment  and  edification  of 
such  a  congregation  than  the  reading  of  a  chapter  or  part 
of  one.  I  remembered  the  words  of  a  wise  and  kind- 
hearted  teacher,  when  encouraging  us  in  our  youth  to 
commit  passages  of  Scripture  to  memory, — ^"Boys,  these 
are  Grod's  own  words ;  it  must  be  good  for  us  all  to  have 
them  in  our  minds.  They  will  warn  us  of  danger,  sustain 
us  in  trial,  cheer  us  and  bless  us  in  life  and  in  death. 
Store  these  words  in  your  memory,  boys,  and  depend  upon 
it  before  you  are  old  men  you  will  have  often  thanked  me 
for  directing  your  attention  to  them."  The  prophecy  of 
my  revered  teacher  has  been  abundantly  verified  in  my 
own  experience,  and  I  have  no  doubt  in  that  of  others  of 
his  pupils.  In  the  same  way  I  argued  that  if  GxkI's  own 
blessed  words  concerning  Himself  and  concerning  man 
were  by  repetition  impressed  upon  the  mind  of  the  stranger, 
the  unwilling  listener,  aJid  even  the  professed  opponent  of 


470  NOHTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  EIVER. 

God's  Word,  as  I  met  tbem  in  the  public  court-yard  at 
Shoshong,  beneficial  results  migbt  follow,  even  in  cases  of 
which  the  preacher  might  never  hear.  Without  entering 
into  the  question  of  their  excellence  under  all  circumstances, 
I  thought  I  could  see  reason  why  good  men,  in  eariier 
times  and  in  rude  ages,  had  adopted  certain  forms  of  ser- 
vice, inscribing  also  important  scriptures  upon  the  walls  of 
the  house  of  Ood.  As  the  peasantry  gathered  round  the 
church,  some  one  would  be  found  ambitious  to  show  his 
superior  learning,  by  spelling  over  to  his  companions  the 
Ten  Commandments  or  the  Greed,  or  the  words  of  Gospel 
which  were  plainly  inscribed  on  the  walls.  And  in  the 
oftr-repeated  service  the  ignorant  parishioners  learned  some- 
thing of  their  true  position  in  the  sight  of  God.  I  did 
not  however  appoint  any  portion  of  the  service  to  be 
audibly  joined  in  by  the  heathen  audience.  I  feared  lest 
such  responses,  ignorantly  made,  should  come  to  satisfy 
their  minds,  and  detain  them  in  a  stagnant  formality.  As 
an  agent  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  I  was  perfectly 
at  liberty  to  have  introduced  a  liturgical  form  if  I  had 
chosen  to  do  so.  The  short  address  which  I  gave  in  the 
kotla  was  usually  in  explanation  of  one  or  other  of  the 
texts  which  had  been  read  in  the  form  of  service  now 
described. 

As  soon  as  this  service  in  the  town  was  over,  I  hastened 
home,  and  found  the  Europeans  who  might  be  then  at 
Shoshong  waiting  for  me  on  the  veranda.  We  had  now 
a  service  in  English  in  my  parlour,  not  lasting  longer  than 
an  hour.  I  had  always  great  pleasure  in  this  service,  and 
kept  it  up  regularly,  however  few  might  be  present  It 
was  usually  attended  by  all  the  Europeans — ^people  of 
all  Christian  Churches  joining  in  our  simple  worship. 
The  passing  hunter,  arriving  on  Friday  or  Saturday, 
made   a  point  of  coming  up  to   the  service  in  English 


"BY  LITTLE  AKD  LTrTLB."  471 

on  Sunday  evening.  The  resident  traders  at  Shoshong 
were  exemplary  in  their  attendance,  being  seldom  ab- 
sent. Old  associations  were  revived ;  early  and  perhaps 
forgotten  vows  brought  to  remembrance.  The  Christian 
Church  at  this  distant  outpost  of  her  army  had  words  of 
comfort  and  strengthening,  of  warning  and  entreaty,  to 
offer  to  her  wandering  children.  In  a  place  of  safety,  and 
beside  certain  certificates  and  other  documents  of  personal 
interest  and  value,  I  treasure  an  address  which  was  pre- 
sented to  me,  along  with  a  simi  of  money,  by  the  members 
of  this  English  congregation,  on  the  occasion  of  my  leaving 
for  a  time  the  station  of  Shoshong.  There  is  no  document 
in  my  possession  on  which  I  set  greater  store  than  this 
spontaneous  and  unexpected  expression  of  affection  and  of 
respect  from  my  fellow-countrymen  and  other  English- 
speaking  people  in  Bechuana-land.  Fully  assured  of  the 
affection  of  my  Bamangwato  congregation,  and  also  of  the 
confidence  of  the  chief  and  others  who  remained  attached 
to  heathenism,  I  regarded  the  address  referred  to  as  an 
indication  that  I  had  not  altogether  failed  in  what  I  had 
always  set  before  me  as  an  object — ^to  be  the  servant  of  all 
classes  in  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  to  endeavour  not  to  set 
class  against  class,  or  colour  against  colour,  but  to  endeavour 
to  unite  all  in  the  common  service  of  Ood  through  Christ 
Jesus. 

The  work  of  the  missionary  has  only  been  begun  at 
Shoshong.  I  have  not  been  in  haste  to  enrol  the  professing 
Christians  in  the  fellowship  of  a  church.  More  than  once 
I  was  on  the  point  of  doing  so,  when  something  occurred 
to  deter  me.  It  is  true  I  never  heard  any  at  Shoshong 
express  the  same  definite  trust  in  the  Church  and  its 
ordinances  for  salvation  as  expressed  by  Sechele.  But  the 
same  doctrines  which  had  been  preached  to  the  Bakwena 
had  been  inculcated  also  for  a  shorter  period  at  Shoshong. 


472  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

By  delaying  the  organization  of  a  Christian  Church,  I 
taught  the  disciples  that  their  safety  was  from  Jesus 
Christ,  and  through  personal  faith  in  Him,  and  not  from 
the  missionary  or  from  the  Church.  I  have  reason  to 
believe  that  this  truth  supported  some  of  ihem  in  trying 
circumstances.  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  thinking  of  a 
few — a  very  few — at  Shoshong  as  sincere  disciples  of 
Jesus  Christ.  There  are  also  there  outer  circles  of 
hearers  of  the  Word,  whose  lives  are  more  or  less 
affected  by  the  teaching  of  the  gospeL  I  hope  that 
those  who  continued  true  to  Christ  in  temptation  and 
trial  will  form  a  good  nucleus  for  that  Church  whidi  I 
trust  our  Lord  will  graciously  build  among  the  Bamang- 
wato. 

But  it  may  with  truth  be  said  that  the  mission  has  left  its 
mark  upon  the  whole  community.  This  mark  may  not  be 
so  deep  as  we  could  wish,  still  it  is  visible.  Many  of  the 
leading  ideas  of  our  faith  are  now  tacitly  received  by  all 
classes.  After  rain  has  fallen  I  have  often  heard  old 
heathen  men  exclaim,  '^God  has  t^ped  us  with  rain.** 
Before,  it  would  have  been  announced  all  over  the  town 
as  the  rain  of  one  or  other  of  the  priests  then  known  to 
be  practising  necromancy.  If  an  Ikiglish  traveller  were 
now  to  ask  a  priest  if  he  had  the  power  of  making  rain, 
he  would  in  most  cases  reply  in  the  negative.  ''God 
alone  could  make  rain.  He  prayed  to  Him  by  the  herbs 
and  plants  of  the  field,  as  his  fathers  had  taught  him; 
the  white  men  were  taught  to  jwuy  from  the  books."  The 
young  men  are  not  growing  up  with  the  old  reverence  for 
customs  which  have  been  already  shorn  of  much  of  their 
mystery,  and  somewhat  modernized.  The  old  assumption 
of  power  on  the  part  of  the  priests  and  sorcerers,  which  is 
still  kept  up  by  many,  was  more  likely  to  evoke  the 
reverence  and  the  service  of  the  ignorant  people,  than 


"  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE."  473 

t 

their  more  "  liberal "  declaration  that  God  is  the  source  of 
power  and  blessing,  and  not  they  themselves. 

A  short  time  before  I  left  Shoshong  I  was  told  that 
throughout  the  whole  town  of  some  thirty  thousand  in- 
habitants, there  were  now  very  few  who  did  not  pay  a 
certain  deference  to  the  "  Letsatsi  ya  Morimo  " — ^the  Day 
of  God,  as  the  Sunday  is  called  by  the  Bamangwato. 
When  we  commenced  our  labours,  there  was  no  day  of 
rest  to  lighten  the  dreary  monotony  of  the  Pagan  life. 
During  the  few  years  of  our  residence  and  teaching,  it 
would  seem  that  a  certain  undefined  impression  was  pro- 
duced upon  the  community  at  large.  When  we  came 
away,  the  bulk  of  the  workers  in  the  fields  usually  stayed 
at  home  on  the  Sunday.  And  even  in  the  hunting-field,  I 
was  told,  this  day  is  observed  with  a  certain  amount  of 
respect  even  by  the  heathen.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the 
crudeness  of  the  ideas  which  animate  such  ignorant  masses 
at  an  early  stage  in  their  history. 

"  We  observed,"  said  the  women  who  work  in  the  fields, 
"  that  if  one  of  our  number  injured  herself  with  her  hoe, 
it  was  always  on  the  Great  Day ;  so  we  gave  up  working 
on  that  day." 

^'  A  man  may  hunt  with  success  all  the  week,"  said  a 
heathen  man  in  my  hearing ;  ^'  but  if  he  goes  out  to  shoot 
on  Sunday,  he  gets  nothing  for  his  trouble.  He  meets 
with  a  lion,  or  lames  himself  with  a  thorn,  or  his  gun 
bursts." 

Now,  these  ideas  have  not  come  from  the  missionaries. 
They  were  never  threatened  with  such  things  if  they  broke 
the  Sunday ;  but  by  teaching  and  example  the  missionary 
showed  that  he  regarded  it  as  a  peculiar  day,  a  day  for 
religion  and  for  God.  As  the  people  had  their  own 
recurring  religious  observances,  and  dances  at  the  time  of 
new  moon,  the  idea  of  a  day  set  apart  for  religion  was  not 


474  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

entirely  new  to  them.  At  present  they  show  outward 
respect  to  the  Sunday  for  very  much  the  same  reason  as 
they  perform  any  of  their  old  religious  services — from  fear 
of  the  consequences  of  the  opposite  oourse.  It  is  safer 
to  abstain  from  work  on  the  Sunday.  Out  of  the  large 
number  who  go  this  length,  only  about  three  hundred  come 
to  church  on  the  Sunday.  They  have  moved  a  certain 
distance ;  and  there  they  at  present  content  themselves. 
But  every  act  of  reverence  to  the  new  religion  is  an  act  of 
treason  to  the  old  customs.  As  the  power  of  the  one 
increases  in  the  minds  of  the  people  the  influence  of  Uie 
other  will  lose  its  hold. 

In  the  beginning  of  1869, 1  attended  a  meeting  of  the 
missionaries  in  Bechuana-land,  which  was  held  at  Kum- 
man.  Two  subjects  of  importance  were  discussed — the 
revision  of  the  Sechuana  Scriptures  and  the  establishment 
of  a  seminary  for  the  training  of  native  ministers.  It  had 
been  my  intention  to  proceed  as  far  as  Cape  Town  with 
my  two  eldest  children,  who  were  old  enough  to  be  sent 
to  school  in  this  country.  But  the  Directors  of  the  Society 
thought  that  after  working  for  ten  imbroken  years  north 
of  the  Orange  river,  I  ought  to  have  a  greater  change 
than  is  implied  in  a  visit  to  Cape  Town  per  ox-waggon  ; 
and  kindly  invited  me  to  accompany  my  family  to  Eng- 
land. This  invitation  reached  me  some  six  days  after  I 
left  Shoshong.  I  did  not  return,  but  wrote  to  my  friends 
there  to  inform  them  that  my  absence  from  the  station 
would  be  for  a  longer  period  than  I  had  anticipated  when 
I  left.  The  District  Committee  made  arrangements  that 
the  "  few  sheep  in  the  wilderness  "  should  not  be  without 
a  shepherd  while  I  was  in  England.  I  have  had  two 
letters  firom  Khamane  since  I  came  to  this  country,  written 
by  himself  in  his  own  language,  in  which  he  informs  me 
that  all  the  recognised  members  of  the  congr^ation  cfm- 


"  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE."  475 

tinue  to  attend  the  weekly  services ;  but  the  members  of 
the  "outer  circle"  had  fallen  off  considerably  in  my 
absence.  I  am  persuaded,  however,  that  the  new  religion 
has  taken  such  root  at  Shoshong,  as  that,  with  a  supply  of 
Christian  literature,  it  would  not  readily  disappear,  even  if 
left  to  itself. 


My  story  of  every-day  life  and  work  is  now  told. 

The  subject  of  the  support  and  management  of  missions 
to  the  heathen  is  one  which  addresses  the  highest  Chris- 
tian thought  and  feeling.  Neither  the  necessity  for  the 
work,  nor  the  motives  for  engaging  in  it,  appear  to  the 
man  who  is  not  thoroughly  and  deeply  a  Christian. 
It  is  not  so  with  reference  to  benevolent  efforts  to  Chris- 
tianize and  elevate  the  degraded  at  home.  The  fact  is, 
moral  evil,  with  its  train  of  sorrow  and  suffering,  in  our 
own  neighbourhood,  becomes  a  nuisance  and  eyesore  which 
men  will  seek  to  remove  from  the  same  motives  that  in- 
fluence them  to  improve  the  drainage  of  the  town.  The 
good  offices  of  many  end  here ;  and  a  sharp  critic  might 
question  whether  genuine  benevolence  or  an  elevated  kind 
of  selfishness  had  most  to  do  with  their  beneficent  actions. 
But  "neither  pray  I  for  these  alone,"  said  our  Lord; 
**  neither  care  I  for  these  only,"  says  Christianity.  The 
reeking  and  offensive  hovels  which  you  fear*  may  contami- 
nate your  neighbourhood,  call  forth  from  the  Saviour  only 
the  same  compassion  which  He  entertains  for  the  rude 
skin-clad  Pagan  in  his  circular  hut  Your  Church  may 
be  insular,  your  creed  and  your  sympathies  may  be  con- 
tracted; )His  message  and  His  blessing  are  for  all  men 
without  distinction. 

The  past  history  of  the  Church  teaches  us  that  the 
lesson  of  expansion  and  aggression  has  been  one  which  in 


476  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

other  ages  the  Church  has  not  readily  learned.  The 
Church  has  had  several  rallying-cries  which  have  served  to 
increase  her  followers,  and  inspire  them  with  new  zeaL 
But  after  a  time  the  ardour  of  the  devotion  has  subsided. 
The  first  cry  was,  "The  Lord  is  risen."  Beginning  at 
Jerusalem,  this  cry  emboldened  the  lips  of  the  timid 
Galileans  who  uttered  it,  and  ringing  in  the  ears  of  the 
murderers  of  Jesus  Christ,  filled  thousands  with  anguish 
and  remorse,  tiU  the  message  of  repentance  through  fiiith 
calmed  the  terror-stricken  multitude,  and  Christianity  was 
planted  in  the  city  where  Christ  himself  was  crucified ; 
its  Divine  forgiveness  and  its  historical  credibility  being 
attested  in  the  fact  that  its  first  members  were  &om 
among  the  murderers  of  its  Founder. 

After  a  time,  however,  this  happy  community  in  Jeru- 
salem would  seem  to  have  been  more  concerned  for  the 
conserving  and  perfecting  of  its  own  corporate  existence 
than  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel.  It  was  therefore 
taught  by  the  finger  of  Providence  that  the  Church  had  a 
higher  aim  than  even  the  edification  of  her  members ;  or 
rather  that  the  highest  Christian  life  of  the  members  would 
be  best  developed  by  battling  for  their  new-found  faith 
rather  than  by  luxuriating  in  it  in  the  daily  fellowship 
meetings  in  JerusalenL  The  Church  was  compelled  to 
remember  the  command  of  her  Lord,  to  preach  the  gospel 
to  every  creature.  The  hand  of  persecution  dispersed  her 
members ;  and  we  are  told  that  '*  they  who  were  scattered 
abroad  went  everywhere  preaching  the  Word." 

A  wild  cry  resounded  through  Europe  in  the  elev^ith 
and  twelfth  centuries  that  the  tomb  of  the  Saviour  was  in 
the  hand  of  the  Saracen.  It  was  but  an  empty  tomb ;  the 
Lord  was  no  longer  there,  having  risen.  But  it  was  the 
place  where  He  had  lain,  and  Christendom  was  up  in 
arms  to  rescue  the  sacred  spot     It  was  a  misapprdiended 


"  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE.*'  477 

idea  of  Christianity  to  support  its  pretensions  by  brute 
force.  But  whilst  both  as  to  the  end  in  view  and  the  mode 
of  attaining  it,  the  Crusades  exhibit  the  superstition  and 
ignorance  of  a  dark  age,  they  surely  teach  us  something 
more.  According  to  the  light  which  they  possessed,  the 
brave  men  who  hastened  to  the  East  &om  every  European 
court,  conceived  that  they  were  devoting  themselves  to  the 
high  and  noble  service  of  Christ  and  His  Church.  Their 
blood  flowed  freely  in  Palestine,  while  the  treasures  and 
the  prayers  of  loved  ones  at  home  followed  and  sustained 
the  Christian  warriors.  He  is  blind  who  can  see  no 
unselfish  heroism  in  the  brave  Crusader,  and  no  pious  libe- 
rality in  the  members  of  the  Christian  Church  of  that  age. 
"  Justified  by  faith  "  was  the  cry  of  the  Eeformation. 
The  dark  wall  of  sacerdotalism  between  Christ  and  His 
disciple  was  removed.  Personal  accountability  to  God  was 
preached  to  the  people.  But  the  dissenting  Churches  of  the 
Reformation,  cut  up  into  isolated  sections,  either  gagged  or 
soothed  to  sleep  by  the  kings  and  queens  who  were  their 
foster  parents,  almost  entirely  lost  one  distinctive  charac- 
teristic of  the  Church  of  Christ  Orthodox  in  creed — 
blameless  in  the  life  of  the  clergy — eminently  beneficial  in 
the  country  or  the  parish  where  their  labours  were  carried 
on,  the  National  Established  Churches  had  no  organization 
for  aggressive  effort  on  the  heathemsm  of  the  world.  The 
idea  was  not  recognised  in  their  constitution  nor  in  their 
local  names.  It  was  perhaps  enough  that  the  Church  of 
Bome  had  her  propaganda,  to  insure  that  Protestant 
Churches  should  have  none.  Whatever  may  have  been 
the  reason,  the  Eeformation  was  succeeded  by  a  period  of 
cold  and  rigid  formalism,  interrupted  only  by  the  persistent 
and  despotic  efforts  of  rulers  to  impress  their  own  ideas  on 
the  Church  of  Christ — efforts  which  were  welcomed  or 
bome  or  bravely  opposed. 


478  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  BITER. 

"  Personal  devotion  to  a  personal  Savioiir  **  maj  be 
to  have  been  the  ciy  of  the  Methodist  and  Pi^ast  move- 
ment which  in  the  end  of  last  centniy  broke  in  upon  the 
slumbering  Christianity  of  the  period.  Personal  acconnt- 
ability  was  now  preached  in  a  wider  sense  than  at  die 
Beformation.  The  old  bottles  conld  not  contain  the  new 
wine.  Dissent  from  dissenting  Chordies  overflowed  the 
land.  Christian  men  who  professed  to  take  their  laws 
of  chorch-govemment  from  the  New  Testament^  and  who 
objected  to  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical  interference  with 
their  religious  life,  might  be  expected  to  exhibit,  in  connec- 
tion with  what  were  then  held  to  be  extreme  views,  a  new 
phase  of  Christianity.  Accordingly,  we  have  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  Baptist  Missionaiy  Society,  and  the  sabscrip- 
tion  of  some  thirteen  pounds  for  the  conversion  <^  the 
heathen !  We  have  the  departure  for  India  of  him  who 
will  live  in  polite  literature  as  the  ^  consecrated  cobbler," 
but  in  the  history  of  the  Church  of  Christ  as  Dr.  William 
Carey,  the  eminent  Oriental  scholar  and  missionaiy.  The 
London  Missionaiy  Society  was  formed  at  this  time ;  and 
from  the  beginning  was  thoroughly  catholic  in  its  character 
and  constitution.  Missionary  societies  were  also  estab- 
lished in  America  and  on  the  continent  of  Europe;  and  in  a 
few  years  Churches  which  disagreed  on  almost  every  other 
question  agreed  in  the  necessity  for  evangelizing  the  world. 

The  Christian  Church  has  always  exhibited  the  highest 
types  of  character  when  fighting  for  some  worthy  and 
specific  object.  These  local  struggles,  however,  passed 
away,  and  with  them  too  frequently  the  heroic  type  of 
character.  But  in  the  evangelization  of  Pagan  lands^ 
there  is  a  vast  object  than  which  none  could  be  worthi^, 
as  none  is  nearer  to  the  heart  of  Christ  Himself.  ''The 
gospel  for  every  creature  "  must  be  the  new  raUying-ciy  of 
the  Christian  Church.     In  pursuing  such  an  object,  devated 


"  BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE."  479 

types  of  Christianity  may  be  expected  to  appear.  This 
is  more  than  rescuing  an  empty  tomb  from  infidel  hands. 
It  is  to  rescue  and  restore  the  blurred  and  defiled  and 
well-nigh  obliterated  image  of  Grod  in  His  creature  man. 
All  honest  industry  may  be  service  to  God.  But  this  is 
angels'  work.  It  is  to  carry  the  blessed  daylight  of  Chris- 
tianity into  benighted  regions  where  human  spirits  are 
groping  with  nothing  to  lighten  them  but  the  ignis  faiuus 
of  superstition.  It  is  to  dispense  the  heavenly  balm  of 
Christ's  gospel  to  souls  sick  unto  death.  It  is  to  combine 
in  one  life  the  highest  service  of  man  with  the  service  of 
Grod ;  to  help  and  to  sympathize  with  the  struggling  re- 
pentant spirit  seeking  after  the  light ;  and  when  the  light 
has  been  found  to  rejoice  with  Heaven  in  its  joy  "  over  one 
sinner  that  repenteth." 

Where  then  are  the  knights  burning  with  enthusiasm  to 
engage  in  this  noblest  crusade )  What  ducal  house  or  lordly 
name  is  represented  among  the  missionaries  of  the  English 
churches  ?  Will  not  the  men  and  the  women  of  an  age 
which  we  affect  to  despise  rise  against  their  judges,  and  con- 
demn them  for  their  greater  selfishniess  and  love  of  ease  1 

Or  is  it  that  in  modem  times  there  is  a  return  to  the 
manner  of  early  Christianity,  and  He  who  called  the  un- 
learned and  the  obscure  to  be  His  disciples  and  witnesses, 
whilst  now  receiving  the  homage  of  the  titled  and  the 
wealthy,  as  at  the  beginning,  still  chooses  for  His  evan- 
gelists in  Pagan  lands  men  from  among  men,  so  that  the 
success  may  be  attributed  to  the  message  itself  and  not  to 
the  political  or  social  influence  of  the  messenger  ? 

To  evangelize  Pagan  lands  then  is  not  only  a  duty :  it  is 
tlie  duty  of  the  Church  of  Christ.  It  is  the  same  error  for 
a  church  to  confine  her  energies  to  her  own  borders,  and  to 
exist  for  herself,  as  it  is  for  the  individual  Christian  to  live 
upon  his  own  inner  frames  and  feelings ;  or  to  extract  from 


480  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

Christianity  onlj  that  which  pleases  and  soothes  bis  own 
feelings  and  tastes. 

It  seems  to  me  that  at  present,  in  eveiy  College  or  Hall 
of  Theology,  there  might,  with  great  advantage,  be  estab- 
lished a  chair  or  lectureship  for  the  benefit  of  jonng  men 
qualifying  themselyes  as  ministers  of  the  Go^tel,  and 
directing  their  attention,  among  other  subjects,  to  the  circum- 
stances in  which  Christianity  was  embraced  in  the  yarioos 
countries  in  Europe ;  the  history  of  the  missions  of  the 
Church  of  Rome ;  the  history  of  modem  missions ;  the 
Pagan  religions  of  mankind — ^their  value,  and  their  in- 
adequacy. It  ought  to  be  taken  for  granted  that  from 
every  such  College  young  men  will  go  forth  as  mission- 
aries. Therefore,  as  at  present  in  the  last  year  of  the 
curriculum  attention  is  given  to  such  subjects  as  will 
qualify  the  minister  at  home  for  his  office,  so  would  this 
lectureship  give  similar  assistance  to  those  intending  to  go 
abroad.  Were  all  students  to  attend  such  a  class  in  their 
last  year,  those  who  go  abroad  would  be  qualified  to  do  so, 
and  those  who  remain  at  home  would  be  better  fitted  to 
understand  and  to  explain  to  their  congregations  the  nature 
of  the  work  abroad.^ 

The  work  of  aggressive  Christianity  ought  to  be  eameetiy 
brought  before  the  attention  of  the  children  of  Christian 
families.  Children  see  the  names  of  their  parents  in  a  list  of 
subscriptions,  or  possibly  hear  their  father  speak  as  diair- 
man  of  a  missionary  meeting ;  but  beyond  these  things  no 
mention  is  made  of  the  subject ;  or  perhaps  the  mother  or 
the  nurse  assembles  the  very  young  children  on  the  Son- 
day  afternoon  or  evening,  and  teUs  them  some  strange 

^  Sach  a  lectureship  has  been  already  established  in  connection  iritk  tiw 
Free  Church  of  Scotland,  and  its  chair  is  at  present  filled  by  the  Ber.  Dr. 
Duif,  the  distinguished  missionary  to  India.  For  some  yean  the  last 
session  of  the  students  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  has  been  speat 
in  studies  bearing  on  their  future  work,  under  the  tuition  of  the  Ber.  Dr. 
Wardlaw,  who  also  laboured  many  years  in  India. 


"BY  LITTLE  AND  LITTLE.*'  '  481 

story  about  missionaries  abroad.  I  am  afraid  that  boys 
in  some  cases  are  even  discouraged  from  giving  their 
attention  to  the  service  of  the  church  either  at  home  or 
abroad,  and  the  argument  is  used  to  them  that  if  they  can 
only  succeed  in  making  enough  money  they  can  have  more 
influence  for  good  than  if  they  become  ministers  or  mis- 
sionaries. This  is  certainly  not  what  the  father  said  when 
he  stood  on  the  missionary  platform.  He  there  declared 
that  the  work  of  the  missionary  was  the  noblest  on 
earth,  and  urged  young  men  to  give  their  attention  to  it. 
It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  if  after  listening  to  such  diverse 
advices,  chilling  doubt  and  suspicion  on  the  most  sacred 
subjects  enter  the  mind  of  the  young  man,  and  he  learns 
to  sum  up  in  a  few  words  the  maxims  of  his  home  and  of 
the  society  in  which  he  moves,  "  Money  is  the  chief  thing ; 
therefore  get  money."  Of  all  the  representatives  of  Chris- 
tian English  homes  who  ai'e  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of 
the  world,  how  many  are  Christian  evangelists  1  This  is 
not  asked  by  way  of  disparaging  the  honest  and  honour- 
able pursuits  of  commerce;  nor  underrating  the  service 
which  commercial  men  can  render  to  the  cause  of 
religion.  But  I  ask, — ^Is  it  befitting  the  merciful  and 
unselfish  spirit  of  our  Christianity,  or  its  immense  impor- 
tance to  mankind,  that  so  much  of  our  energy  should  be 
devoted  to  ourselves — so  little  to  God  and  our  fellow-men ; 
80  much  effort  put  forth  from  deference  to  the  wishes  or 
maxims  of  friends  or  society — so  little  in  obedience  to  the 
conunand  or  from  regard  to  the  strong  desire  of  our  Lord 
and  Saviour  1 

To  the  Christian  boy  or  young  man  who  may  have 
accompanied  me  thus  far  in  my  story,  I  shall  address  my 
concluding  sentences.  I  remember  it  was  pleasant  to 
dream  of  the  future  while  sitting  listening  to  the  music  of 
the  mountain  stream,  the  eye  meanwhile  watching  the  ever 

2  H 


482  NOBTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  BIVEB. 

chan^g  clouds  of  the  deep  blue  sammer  sky.  By  the 
winter  fireside  also  I  often  mused  of  the  coming  jears, 
and  of  the  many-sidedness  of  human  life,  while  forms  and 
shapes  appeared  and  disappeared  in  the  glowing  embers 
before  me.  To  him  who  has  reached  those  years  of  reverie 
and  resolve  let  me  address  an  honest  heart-felt  word  : — ^If 
you  have  fsuth  in*  your  Saviour  and  a  sound  constitution ; 
if  you  have  acquired  or  can  obtain  a  liberal  education ;  if 
you  are  not  particular  about  what  you  eat  and  dnnk,  or 
the  hardness  or  softness  of  the  bed  you  sleep  on ;  if  yon 
believe  that  Christ  is  able  and  willing  to  do  for  all  men 
what  He  has  done  for  you — ^young  man,  leave  the  money- 
making  to  your  brothers.  Let  there  be  at  least  one  out 
of  every  family  devoted  to  the  church  and  to  aggressive 
Christianity.  Be  a  missionary — a  preacher  of  the  gospel 
among  the  heathen — a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ ! 


APPENDIX. 


THE  EACES  OF  SOUTHEEN  AFEICA. 

SECTION  I. — ANTIQUITIES  AND  TRADITIONS — STEREOTYPING 
TENDENCY  OF  SOUTH  AFRICAN  SUPERSTITION. 

A  PROMINENT  place  in  the  history  of  all  nations  is  occupied 
by  accounts  of  the  numerous  wars  which  they  have  waged. 
In  Southern  Africa  those  who  have  mingled  with  its  rude 
races,  find  that  there  also  eveiy  tribe  has  its  own  traditions 
of  strifes  and  feuds,  resulting  in  conquest    or    defeat. 
Within  the  memory  of  man^  insignificant  tribes  have  risen 
to  importance  through  the  ability  of  their  chieftain  or 
commander;  whilst  other  clans,  formerly  of  importance, 
have  been   entirely   swept    away,  by  the  indiscriminate 
slaughter  of  the  savage.     Extermination  has  been  in  some 
instances  avoided  by  speedy  flight  over  a  vast  expanse  of 
territory.     Thus,    in    many  cases,  the   same   district  of 
country  has  changed  hands  several  times  in  recent  years. 
I  have  never  myself  met  with  a  tribe  whose  traditions  did 
not  point  to  another,' and  sometimes  distant  locality,  as 
having  been  at  a  former  period  the  residence  of  their 
ancestors.     But  whilst  constant  changes  have  been  taking 
place  amongst  these  uncultivated  races,  we  have  no  litera- 
ture in  which  to  find  their  dreary  record.     Tradition  sheds 
its  uncertain  light  backwards  for  only  a  few  generations, 
and  then  leaves  us  in  the  dark.     Beyond  this,  a  bare  list 
of  the  names  of  chiefs  i&  all  that  has  been  preserved  in  the 
various  tribes.     The  Kaffirs  living  to  the  east  of  Cape 
Colony  would  seem  to  have  given  the  greatest  attention 
to  genealogical  questions.     Some  tribes  among  them  reckon 
up  eleven  ancestors,  others  fourteen ;  whilst  the  oldest  or 


484  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

parent  tribe,  the  Abatembu  or  Tembookies,  treasures  in 
its  memory  as  many  as  eighteen  chiefs — ^taking  ns  back, 
according  to  recent  computation,  to  about  A.D.  1400.^ 

To  the  passing  traveller  the  country  itself  tells  little  of 
its  past  inhabitants.  Here  and  there,  however,  such 
^'  marks  "  have  been  made  on  it  as  testify  to  the  fact  of  its 
having  had  ancient  occupants,  and  some  of  them  appar^idy 
of  greater  force  and  talent  than  its  present  masters.  In 
certain  caves  within  the  colony,  drawings  of  animals,  sup- 
posed to  be  the  work  of  Bushmen,  were  discovered  by  the 
colonists  at  an  early  date,  and  are  described  by  Bairow,^ 
who  saw  them  in  1797.  "For  accuracy  of  outline  and 
correctness  of  the  different  parts,"  says  Sir  John,  "  worse 
drawings  have  passed  through  the  engraver^s  hands." 
Considerable  curiosity  was  excited  among  naturalists  at 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  by  the  discovery 
among  these  drawings  of  the  representation  of  an  animal 
with  one  horn,  which  was  supposed  to  be  the  unicorn  of 
Scripture.  This  animal,  which  had  the  head  and  neck  of 
a  giraffe,  whilst  its  horn  was  placed  not  on  the  middle  but 
on  the  right  side  of  its  forehead,  probably  existed  merely 
in  the  superstition  of  the  Bushmen,  as  does  a  certain  bird 
called  tlari  in  the  m3rthology  of  the  Bechuanas. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  Southern  Afirica,  the  huntsman 
and  the  naturalist,  whose  pursuits  may  lead  them  to  visit  the 
summits  of  the  mountains,  find  on  their  most  inaccessible 
heights  the  little  stone  walls  or  enclosures,  usually  forming 
part  of  a  circle,  which  partially  surrounded  the  dwellings 
of  former  inhabitants.  But  beyond  informing  us  tha4 
man's  hand  placed  them  where  they  now  are,  these  ancient 
fences — ^many  of  which  are  nearly  hid  by  grass  and 
creepers — teU  us  nothing  more  that  is  definite ;  for  suck 
enclosures  are  used  more  or  less  by  all  the  South  African 
tribes.  At  Lobatse,  near  to  Sechele's  Town,  we  find  the 
ruins  of  a  native  town,  all  the  walls  of  which  are  built  of 

1  The  Past  and  Future  qfthe  Kafir  Haces.    By  Rev.  W.  C  Hodds. 
London,  1866. 

«  Travels  in  the  Interior  qf  Southern  Africa  in  the  Tears  1797 
1798.    By  John  Barrow,  Esq.    London,  1801-4. 


THE  RACES  OF  SOUTHERN  AFRICA.  485 

stone.  It  is  laid  out  after  the  manner  of  a  Bechuana 
town;  each  subdivision  having  the  small  courtyard  and 
cattle-pen  of  its  master.  Every  wall  is  a  circle,  or  part  of 
a  circle.  It  would  seem  that  no  native  of  South  Africa 
ever  drew  a  straight  line,  until  he  learned  to  do  so  from 
Europeans.  The  workmanship  of  these  walls  is  good ;  the 
"  joints "  are  well  broken ;  and  other  rules  are  attended 
to,  known  to  those  who  build  what  is  called  in  Scotland 
"  a  dry  stane  dyke."  The  Bechuanas  living  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood uniformly  tell  us  that  these  walls  are  the  ruins 
of  a  town  formerly  occupied  by  the  Bangwaketse,  a  tribe 
of  Bechuanas..  J£  this  is  true,  these  people  have  sadly 
deteriorated  as  to  their  style  of  building,  for  not  a  single 
house  in  their  present  town  is  built  of  stone^  not  a  single 
cattle-pen  in  the  style  of  those  at  Lobatse. 

On  the  bank  of  the  Impakwe  river,  and  in  a  district 
which,  when  I  passed  through  it  in  1863,  was  all  but 
entirely  stripped  of  human  inhabitants,  we  have  the  remains 
of  an  ancient  smelting-fumace,  the  walls  of  which  are  built 
in  the  same  style  of  workmanship  as  those  at  Lobatse. 
Here,  therefore,  in  a  district  which  is  now  a  wilderness, 
there  must  have  formerly  lived  an  industrious  and  semi- 
civilized  community,  probably  the  Mashona,  who  now 
reside  to  the  east  and  north-east  of  the  Matebele  Zulus, 
and  have  had  hitherto  little  intercourse  with  English- 
men. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  circumstance  tending  to  throw 
light  on  the  dark  history  of  the  country,  is  the  discovery 
of  ancient  pits  or  mines,  on  the  bank  of  the  river  Tatie,  in 
which  gold  had  been  dug  in  some  previous  age.  None  of 
the  present  natives  of  the  country  had  noticed  these  pits. 
When  discovered  by  Europeans  in  1867  they  were  nearly 
filled  up  again  with  the  drifting  sand ;  and  in  the  case  of 
one  of  them  a  large  mopane  tree  was  growing  out  of  what 
had  been  once  the  mouth  of  a  gold  mine.  In  this  con- 
nection I  may  mention,  that  when  the  stone  walls  of  my 
kitchen  at  Shoshong  had  risen  to  some  height,  a  native 
of  the  Makalaka  tribe,  after  •  surveying  them  attentively, 
remarked  to  me  that  he  had  now  a  new  thought  concern- 


486  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

ing  certain  walk  in  his  native  country,  which  lay  to  the 
north-east.  He  said  when  he  was  a  boy  he  had  looked  on 
them  as  he  did  on  the  mountains  and  the  plains — ^as  things 
which  had  always  been  where  he  beheld  them ;  but  since 
he  had  seen  the  stone  walls  built  by  white  men,  he  had 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  those  in  his  native  land  must 
have  been  built  by  the  same  people.  In  a  work  which 
has  recently  come  under  my  notice,^  I  find  it  asserted  that 
white  men  had  seen  these  or  similar  ruins  in  the  district 
indicated  by  my  servant.  In  the  extensive  region  of  the 
recent  gold  discoveries,  we  may  hope  to  find  more  than 
usually  abundant  materials  to  instruct  us  as  to  the  past 
history  of  the  country.  As  soon  as  it  became  probable 
that  the  source  of  the  Nile  was  farther  south  than  either 
the  Victoria  or  Albert  Nyanza,  learned  people  reminded  us 
that  Ptolemy  was  in  possession  of  this  ^owledge,  and  that 
old  Portuguese  maps  also  contained  it  And  as  soon  as  it 
became  certain  that  ancient  gold  mines  had  been  discovered 
on  the  east  coast  of  Africa,  we  were  reminded  that  Milton 
had  written  in  the  eleventh  book  of  Paradise  Lost — 

"  And  Sofala,  ihonght  OpUr." 

Some  are  even  sanguine  enough  to  prophesy  that  not  only 
is  gold  likely  to  be  obtained  there  in  remunerative  quan- 
tities, but  that  monuments  of  the  past  may  be  discovered 
which  shall  throw  light  upon  the  former  owners  of  the 
mines,  and  possibly  upon  Scripture  itself,  showing  where 
Eang  Solomon  procured  at  least  some  of  the  commodities 
mentioned  in  the  Book  of  Kings;  and  where  gold  was 
usually  obtained  at  the  much  earlier  period  when  the  Book 
of  Job  was  written. 

But  these  are  sony  materials,  even  when  taken  together, 
to  stand  as  the  monuments  of  man's  residence  during  the 
long  past,  between  the  district  of  the  Zambese  and  tiie 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  They  are  as  unsatisfactory  as  are 
those  illustrative  of  a  similarly  rude  though  happily  lees  pro- 
tracted age  in  the  history  of  our  own  island — ^the  age  of  the 
round  "wattle-and-daub"  hut,  whose  painted  or  well-greased 

*  Ruined  Cities  of  Zulu-land,    By  Ctolonel  Walmaley. 


THE  RACES  OF  SOUTHERN  AFRICA.  487 

occupant  lived  chiefly  by  the  chase^  to  which  he  sallied 
forth  armed  with  bow  and  arrow. 

The  religion  or  superstition  of  a  people  has  an  immense 
and  direct  influence  on  their  physic^  condition.  Illustra- 
tions will  at  once  occur  from  Christianity,  Judaism,  Maho- 
metanism,  Confucianism,  and  Brahminism.  These  religions 
haye  had  direct  and  specific  effects  on  their  votaries, 
encouraging  free  thought,  inquiry,  and  discovery,  or  stereo- 
typing a  social  system,  and  causing  it  to  descend  unchanged 
for  thousands  of  years.  For  instance,  in  China  for  the  last 
2000  years  the  sameness  of  the  Chinaman's  features  has 
been  equalled  only  by  the  changeless  monotony  of  his 
religious  and  social  life.  Every  one  knows  how  the  re- 
ligious traditions  of  the  past  have  divided  and  enthralled 
the  population  of  India.  Whilst  there  was  more  apparent 
variety  than  in  China,  there  was  also  a  much  greater  bond- 
age, and  a  more  rigidly  defined  monotony.  The  system  of 
caste  taught  the  Hindoo  that  he  must  be  in  everything  the 
counterpart  of  his  father,  not  in  opinions  merely,  but  as  to 
status  in  society  and  profession  or  trade.  With  regard  to 
the  religion  or  superstition  of  Southern  Africa  travellers 
have  told  widely  different  tales.  Some  writers  find  more 
in  the  native  customs  than  observation  would  warrant, 
when  imassisted  by  the  imagination.  Others  again  cannot 
find  language  too  strong  to  express  their  estimate  of  the 
brutishness  of  the  people,  and  their  utter  want  of  religious 
thought  and  feeling.  The  truth  of  the  matter  would  seem 
to  be,  that  the  most  degraded  have  not  ceased  to  be  wor- 
shippers. Fetichism,  or  the  trust  in  the  power  of  fetiches 
or  charms,  is  the  form  of  religion  most  extensively  followed 
in  Southern  Africa.  This  kind  of  superstition  may  appear 
so  trivial  to  some  that  a  recent  English  traveller  passes  it 
by  as  " hocus-pocus;"  but  we  must  not  forget  that  what- 
ever its  nature  it  was  all  that  stood  between  our  own 
ancestors  and  the  unseen,  and  indeed  to  this  day  is  not 
obsolete  in  Europe  or  in  England.  Like  the  sacrifices  offered 
to  Pagan  gods,  or  to  spirits  of  the  dead,  the  observances  of 
fetichism  are  simpler  and  ruder  attempts  to  appease  or  to 
please  the  unseen,  to  ward  off  evil  and  to  bring  good  to  the 


488  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

devotee.  For  the  same  reason  that  he  offers  a  goat  to  liis 
ancestors,  the  African  priest  will  lift  up  a  charm  on  the  end 
of  a  pole  in  the  court-yard  of  the  town,  or  will  wear  on  his 
own  brow  the  claw  of  a  tiger,  or  will  bum  a  mark  in  his 
forehead  with  the  charred  end  of  a  certain  piece  of  wood. 
The  earnest  manner  in  which  the  ceremonies  are  performed, 
and  the  satisfaction  which  is  expressed  when  all  has  been 
gone  through  according  to  rule,  testify  to  the  force  of 
the  sanction  of  that  which  is  handed  down  from  remote 
antiquity.  In  most  of  the  tribes  we  find  the  ideas  of 
ceremonial  cleanness  and  uncleanness,  as  well  as  of  sacrifice 
and  of  prayer  to  the  spirits  of  departed  chiefs.  My  pre- 
sent object  is  not  to  describe  these  ceremonies,  but  to 
draw  attention  to  the  fact  that  throughout  Southern 
Africa  there  obtains,  in  connection  with  the  religion  or 
superstition  of  the  people,  the  same  devotion  to  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  past,  and  the  same  disinclination,  on  ^religions  " 
grounds,  to  give  them  up,  which  characterize  the  natives 
of  India^ — it  being  understood  that  the  possession  of  a 
literature  enables  the  Hindoo  to  develop  the  same  ideas  in 
a  more  intensified  and  subtle  form.  The  existence  of  this 
feeling  among  the  South  African  tribes  renders  it  probable 
that,  as  in  India,  not  only  religion,  but  the  whole  social 
system,  has  been  stereot3rped  for  ages.  This  would  seem 
to  be  placed  beyond  all  doubt  by  tihe  fact  that  the  ancient 
Egyptian  sculptures  represent  dresses  and  occupations  and 
utensils  such  as  may  be  seen  in  any  native  town  in  Southern 
Africa  at  the  present  day.  There,  as  in  India,  a  man  may 
do  only  what  his  fathers  have  done,  and  wear  what  his 
fathers  have  worn.  A  Bushman  has  told  me  that  it  did 
not  belong  to  him  to  plant  or  to  keep  live  stock.  His 
forefathers  knew  nothing  but  the  game  and  the  roots  of 
the  earth,  which  was  to  him  a  reason  why  he  also  should 
know  no  more.  A  Bechuana  man,  who  wears  his  cincture 
in  one  way,  is  shocked  with  the  Zulu,  who  wears  it  after 
another  fashion,  and  with  the  Kaffir,  who  hardly  wears 
anything  at  all ;  and  his  name  for  these  tribes  (Mapotoko) 
has  reference  to  their  not  being,  in  his  estimation,  suffi- 
ciently clothed.     The  peaceful  and  industrious  Makalaka 


THE  RACES  OF  SOUTHERN  AFRICA.        489 

told  me  that  Morimo  (God)  had  not  given  them  cattle  like 
the  Bechuanas,  but  skill  in  agriculture :  their  com  was 
their  cattle.  The  warlike  Zulus  and  Kaffirs  again  point  to 
their  spears,  and  inform  you  that  these  are  their  cattle ; 
^d  one  of  the  proud  titles  of  their  chief  is  "Eater-by- 
force."  It  is  probable  that  such  tribal  distinction  s,  such 
"  division  of  labour  "  in  the  dreary  Pagan  life,  have  obtained 
from  earliest  times.  Although  all  are  ready  enough  after 
a  time  to  adopt  European  weapons,  and  most  of  them  to 
don  European  clothing,  they  show  little  desire  to  inter- 
change either  weapons  or  clothing  among  themselves.* 
Instead,  therefore,  of  having  to  dig  up  an  arrow-head  or 
axe-head,  or  minutely  examine  the  texture  of  some  cloth 
found  in  an  ancient  grave,  in  order  to  form  an  idea  of  the 
ancestors  of  the  present  inhabitants  of  Southern  Africa,  we 
have  but  to  describe  the  people  and  their  mode  of  life 
w^hen  first  met  by  Europeans. 

In  the  case  of  the  tillers  of  the  soil,  as  well  as  those 
who  practised  the  few  rude  arts  of  South  African  industry, 
self-interest  would  increase  the  attention  which  superstition 
demanded  should  be  paid  to  the  acquirement  of  these  arts 
by  the  young.  They  received  insight  into  their  secrets  as 
a  semi-religious  service.  Magic  and  science  were  here,  as 
elsewhere,  closely  blended.  The  young  worker  in  iron, 
for  instance,  was  taught  that  certain  charms  were  as 
necessary  to  the  process  of  smelting  the  ore  or  of  forging 
the  iron  into  hoes  and  spears,  as  were  the  charcoal  and  the 
beUows.  And  so  potent  were  the  spells  which  the  iron- 
master used  to  protect  the  scene  of  his  industiy  from 
intrusion  and  depredation  that  no  uninitiated  person 
thought  it  safe  to  approach.  Thus  useful  knowledge,  in 
a  stereotyped  form,  was  handed  down  from  father  to  son, 
protected  and  sanctioned  by  a  stereotyped  superstition. 

'  Sir  John  Lubbock,  in  his  Prehistoric  Man,  p.  421,  has  the  statement 
that  the  Hottentots,  of  late  years,  not  only  used  iron  weapons,  but  even 
made  such  for  themselves.  On  referring  to  Kolben,  the  authority  quoted 
by  Sir  John,  I  have  not  been  able  to  discover  any  passage  which  refers  to 
the  art  as  having  been  then  recently  introduced  among  the  Hottentots. 


490  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

SECTION  n. — ^DIVISION  OF  NATIVES  OF  SOUTHERN  AFRICA 

INTO  TWO  FAMILIES. 

(a.)  Language. 

The  tribes  of  Southern  Africa  may  be  divided  into  two 
families.  This  division  holds  good  as  to  language,  manj 
religious  rites  and  social  customs,  as  well  as  physical 
^  appearance.  In  the  second  family  I  omit  the  names 
of  several  tribes  living  between  Natal  and  the  Zambese, 
giving  only  those  with  whom  I  have  come  into  personal 
contact.  Those  given  in  the  first  family  exhaust  the 
tribes  belonging  to  this  race  of  men  in  Southern  Africa : — 

First  Family.  Second  Family. 

Bushmen.  Ej^ffirs. 

Hottentots.  Zulus. 

Eorannas.  Fingoes. 

Griquas.  Basutos. 

Bechuanas. 

Damaras. 

Makobas. 

Makalaka. 

Mashona. 

The  comparative  study  of  the  languages  of  Southern 
Africa  will  no  doubt  throw  great  light  upon  the  past  hia- 
tory  of  the  country,  especially  as  to  the  descent  and  com- 
mingling  of  the  various  tribes.  At  the  same  time  it  is  troe 
that  the  absence  of  a  native  literature,  such  as  that  of  India 
or  China,  will  considerably  curtail  the  fulness  of  the  infor- 
mation from  this  source.  Missionaries  have  reduced  to 
writing  the  languages  of  the  people  to  whom  they  have 
gone  as  evangelists ;  and  recently  these  and  other  contri- 
butions to  the  philology  of  Southern  Afirica  have  be^i 
analysed  and  classified  by  Dr.  Bleek,  of  Cape  Town,  in  a 
work  which  is  still  in  progress.^ 

Hottentot  and  Bushman  Languages. 
With  reference  to  the  Bushman  language,  no  European 

1 A  Comparative  Qrammar  of  South  African  Langtuiges,     In  Pi'iigiw> 
By  Wilhelm  H.  J.  Bleek,  Ph.D.    London,  1858  and  1869. 


THE  RACES  OF  SOUTHERN  AFRICA. 


491 


has  yet  thoroughly  mastered  it.  But  "  it  seems  to  be 
clear  that  its  relationship  to  the  Hottentot  language  is  at 
least  very  remote.  In  fact  the  probability  is  that  it  will  be 
found  to  belong  to  what  may  be  called  the  genderless 
languages.  Members  of  this  class  seem  to  exist  in  almost 
all  other  parts  of  the  world,  and  they  interrupt  particularly 
the  contiguity  of  sex-denoting  languages  in  Northern 
Africa  (Bomu,  Mandenga,  etc.);  Europe  (Basque,  Hun- 
garian, Finnian,  etc.) ;  Asia  (Tartaric,  Mongolian,  Dra- 
vidian,  etc.)  They  occupy  also  some  portions  of  America, 
and  the  whole  Australian  continent."  ^ 

The  Hottentot  language,  which  is  the  best  known  of 
this  division,  belongs  to  the  sex-denoting  languages.  It 
has  a  dual  number.  Its  pronouns  are  formed  from  the 
derivative  suffixes  of  the  nouns.  It  has  therefore  more  in 
common  with  the  Egyptian,  Semitic,  and  Aryan  languages, 
than  with  any  of  the  languages  of  the  other  inhabitants  of 
Southern  Africa.  This  fact  was  recently  ascertained  inde- 
pendently, and  almost  at  the  same  time,  by  different 
scholars.  We  give  as  an  illustration  the  declension  of  a 
single  Hottentot  noun  as  to  gender  and  number  : — 


Singular. 

Plural 

Dual, 


khoi-;P 

khoi-^ 

khoi-/;Aa 


man  (husband), 
men  (husbands), 
two  men  (husbands). 


Singular,  khoi-5 

Plural,  khoi-/t 

Singular,  khoi-f 

Plural,  khoi-n 

Duai,  khoi-ra* 


woman, 
women. 


person. 

people  (persons), 
two  persons    (a    man   and    a 
woman,  or  two  women). 


The  following  Hottentot  sentences  show  how  the  suffixes 
do  duty  as  pronouns  : — 

Si-da  e-sa  khoi-^  ta  khni,  'nam-^'  da-ra. 

Our  handsome  man  does  appear,        love  him  we  do. 


1  Ccmp,  Orcmmofr,  Introduction. 


« Ibid,  Part  ii  p.  120. 


492 


NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 


Si-da  e-sa 
Our  handsome 

Si-da  e-Ba 
Our  haodsome 

Si-da  e-sa 
Our  handsome 


khoi-^ 
men 

tara^ 
woman 

tara-^t 
women 


ra  khui,  'nam-<7!*-da-ra. 

do  appear,  love  them  we  da 

ta  khui,  *nam-«i-da-nL 

does  appear,  love  her  we  do. 

ra  khui,  'nam-ti-da-ra.^ 

do  appear,  love  them  we  do. 


What  Europeans  know  as  "  clicks,"  are  to  be  found  in 
all  the  languages  of  the  Hottentot  family.  Three-fourths 
of  the  syllabic  elements  of  the  Hottentot  language  are  said 
to  begin  with  clicks.  Judging  from  its  effect  on  the  ear, 
a  still  greater  number  obtain  in  the  Bushman  language. 
Clicks  are  not  confined  to  this  family,  however.  They  are 
found  in  other  African  languages,  as  in  Zulu  and  Kaffir, 
and  a  few  words  in  Sesuto,  and  it  is  said  in  the  GaUa 
language  of  North  Africa.  In  the  Circassian  language, 
according  to  Klaproth,  they  are  also  to  be  found ;  and  in 
the  language  spoken  in  Guatemala.^  However  difficult  it 
may  be  for  European  adults  to  acquire  the  proper  pro- 
nunciation of  these  uncouth  sounds,  children  of  Europeans 
growing  up  in  the  country  acquire  the  language  perfectly. 
When  travelling  through  the  Bushman  countiy  to  the 
north  of  Shoshong,  one  of  my  own  children,  who  was  then 
just  at  the  age  when  every  sound  which  is  heard  is  imitated 
with  greater  or  less  success,  was  able  to  pronounce  several 
of  the  Bushman  clicks  which  he  heard  spoken  by  the  guides 
at  our  camp  fire.^ 

These  languages  have  also  a  peculiarly  jerky,  mono- 
syllabic, and  uncouth  effect,  besides  the  clicks ;  and  some 
of  the  words  are  pronounced  as  if  the  person  were  singing. 
And  this  abrupt  variation  of  tone  is  necessary  in  order  to 

1  Comp.  Orammar,  Part  ii.  •  Ihid,  p.  14. 

>  Two  of  these  " clicks*'  are  in  constant  use  in  England.  Many  people, 
when  shocked  or  surprised,  withdraw  the  point  of  the  tongue  suddenly  fi:^QB 
the  shut  teeth,  and  tiie  result  is  a  sound  something  like  t  s  blended  Into  one. 
In  Zulu  and  in  Hottentot  this  is  a  constantly  recurring  consonant.  T1m» 
in  certain  districts  drivers  ui^ge  on  their  horses  by  a  sound  famfliar  to 
many,  and  which  is  made  by  the  tongue  at  the  side  of  the  mouth.  Tliii 
is  another  consonant,  which  may  occur  at  the  beginning  or  the  middle  oi 
a  word,  and  is  represented  by  a;  in  Zulu. 


THE  RACES  OF  SOUTHERN  AFRICA.  493 

speak  the  language  intelligibly,  because  there  are  some 
words  which  are  the  same  in  sound,  but  are  modified  in 
meaning  by  the  tone  in  which  they  are  uttered.  Thus  a 
certain  word  in  Koranna,  if  pronounced  in  a  loud  key, 
means  handkerchief ;  the  same  word,  three  notes  lower, 
means  the  spot ;  and  four  notes  lower  still,  it  stands  for  the 
adjective  dark}  I  have  been  much  interested  to  find  that 
there  are  also  four  "  tones  "  in  the  Chinese  language,  and 
that  the  giving  of  the  proper  one,  as  in  Koranna,  is  essen- 
tial to  the  understanding  of  the  sentence.  Dr.  Lockhart, 
who  resided  some  years  at  Pekin,  as  medical  missionary, 
supplies  me  with  the  following  illustration.  In  Chinese, 
a  certain  word  in  the  first  tone  means  to  fly  ;  in  the  second 
tone,  to  subsist ;  in  the  third  tone,  to  swim ;  and  in  the 
fourth  tone,  to  issue.  The  jiecessity  for  "  pitching  *'  one's 
words  in  Chinese  at  the  proper  height  will  be  apparent 
when  it  is  seen  how  widely  different  is  the  meaning  of 
the  word  in  one  tone  from  what  it  is  in  another.  The 
Hottentots  and  Rorannas  have  this  peculiarity  in  their 
languages  in  common  with  the  Chinese.  We  shall  see  that 
their  physical  appearance  resembles  the  same  people.  In- 
deed, the  Bushmen  are  frequently  called  Chinese  by  the 
Dutch  colonists  in  correspondence  which  has  been  printed 
by  order  of  the  House  of  Commons.^ 

The  Ba^iht  Family  of  Languages. 

"  The  Kaffir  language  belongs  to  an  extensive  family  of 
languages,  which  occupy  (as  far  as  our  knowledge  goes)  the 
whole  of  the  South  African  continent,  extending,  on  the 
eastern  side,  from  the  Keiskama  to  the  equator,  and  on 
the  western  side  from  32**  south  to  about  8**  north  latitude. 
Members  of  this  family  of  languages,  which  we  call  the 
Ba-ntu  family,  are  also  spread  over  portions  of  Western 
Africa,  as  far  as  Sierra  Leone,  where  the  Bullom  and 
Timneh  languages  are  cousins  to  the  Kaffir.  They  are 
here  interspersed,   particularly  by  members  of  the  Gor 

1  Sir  G.  Grey's  Library,  voL  i.  Part  1.  p.  20. 

'  Papers  relative  to  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  Part  i.  p.  92. 


494 


NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 


family  of  languages  (Fulah,  Wolof,  Ga,  etc),  which  belongs 
to  the  same  class  of  languages  as  the  Ba-ntu  family,  and 
forms  together  with  it  the  African  section  of  this  class ; 
whilst  the  Malay,  Polynesian,  and  Papuan  families  are  to 
be  considered  as  members  of  the  Oceanic  section  of  the 
same  class.  -It  has  been  divided  into  three  great  branches, 
each  branch  comprising  several  languages  which  are  as 
distinct  from  each  other  as  perhaps  English  is  from  Ger- 
man, or  French  from  Italian  or  Portuguese."  ^ 

The  affinity  between  these  languages,  as  well  as  the 
peculiarity  of  their  formation  of  the  plural  by  prefix 
changes,  will  appear  from  the  following  table,  compiled 
from  the  Grammar  already  quoted,  and  giving  the  words 
"  person  "  and  "  persons  "  as  used  in  fourteen  of  the  Ba-ntu 
family  of  languages.  A  reference  to  the  map  will  show 
over  what  an  extensive  area  they  are  spoken,  from  Kaffir- 
land  on  the  south-east  to  Fernando  Po  on  the  north-west. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Rev.  Dr.  Turner,  author  of 
Nineteen  Years  in  Polynesia,  I  am  able  to  supply  two  speci- 
mens of  the  Oceanic  Section  of  the  Ba-ntu  faniily  : — 


Ajtkican  SEcnoK. 

Singular, 

Plural 

English, 

• 

Person, 

.     persons. 

Name  of  Tribe. 

Kaffir, 

u-mtt-ntu,     . 

.     a-Ao-ntu. 

Tekeza, 

a-mu-no, 

.     va-no. 

Southern  do., 

mt*-nu, 

,     ba-rm  vanvu 

Sechuana, 

J/b-thu, 

.     6a-thu. 

Tette, 

MurnttvL  or  Aftmtto,  Fa-nttu. 

Makua, 

Jftt-ttU, 

.    A-ttu. 

Kihiau, 

Mu-ndvL, 

.     Fa-ndu, 

Kikamba, 

Murudvi, 

.     ^-ndu. 

Kisambala^ 

Mu-ntvi^ 

.     tro-ntu. 

Kinika, 

Mn-txi, 

.     -^-tu. 

Kisuaheli, 

W-tu, 

.      KXI-tU. 

Otyiherero  (Damara), 

>  o-mt^-ndu,    . 

.     o-m-ndu. 

^  Comp.  Oram,  p.  2. 

THE  EACES  OF  SOUTHERN  APMCA.  495 

Name,  of  Tribe,  Singular.  Plural 

Sindonga  or  Ovambo,  u-m-tu,        .  .  o-a-ntu. 

Dikele,  .         .     mu-tyi^        .  .  ho-tyi. 

Fernando  Po,  .     Jo-tshu,        .  .  6t*-t8hu. 

Oceanic  Sbctioit. 

Central    Polynesia,!     j  j,        .  *        * 

Samoa,      .       ^jofetangata,         .     o  tangata. 

Western  Polynesia, )    , 

m  "^      ^  Vn  aremama,         .     aremama. 

The  Ba-ntu  languages  differ  widely  from  those  previously 
described.  The  Hottentot  and  Bushman  languages  are 
abrupt,  and  abound  with  consonants.  The  Ba-ntu  lan- 
guages, on  the  other  hand,  are  rich  in  vowel  sounds.  The 
Sechuana  may  be  said  to  be  a  euphonious  and  flowing 
language.  All  words  end  in  a  vowel  as  in  Italian,  or  in 
the  ringing  ng^  which  is  a  combination  occurring  at  the 
beginning  as  well  as  at  the  end  of  words,  thus,  ngaka,  a 
priest  or  sorcerer;  ngo-ngo-regay  to  murmur.  But  tie 
most  remarkable  characteristic  of  this  family  of  languages 
is,  that  the  pronouns  are  originally  borrowed  from  the 
derivative  prefixes  of  the  nouns.  The  following  examples 
will  show  the  method  of  constructing  a  sentence  in  Se- 
chuana : — 

^othu  ha       tsile. 

People        have  come. 

Bc^hxL  ba      daintle. 

People  (are)  beaatif oL 

jSathu         ha  ha  tsileng      ha   5aiiitle. 

People       who  have  come  (are)  beautifoL 
iS'etlare         ae  se  tala       se     «eintle. 

(The)  tree  which  is  green  (is)  beaatiful. 

This  is  the  same  as  if  it  were  correct  for  us  to  say  in 
English : — 

/*cople  pe  come,  for  people  have  come. 

People  pe  pe  come  pe  pleasant,  for  people  who  have  come  are 
pleasant. 

(Government  go  go  good, /br  a  government  which  is  good. 

Government  go  go  good  go  necessary,  for  a  government  which  is 
good  is  necessary. 


496  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

The  following  sentence  has  already  been  given  in  the 
Hottentot  language ;  I  now  present  it  in  the  language  of 
one  of  the  African  and  one  of  the  Oceanic  sections  of  the 
Ba-ntu  family.  The  relation  of  the  two  latter  as  prefix- 
languages  will  appear,  as  well  as  their  wide  sepfuratioa 
from  the  suffix-language  of  the  Hottentot : — 

English. 
Our  handsome  man  appears ;  we  love  him. 

Singular. 

Sbchuana. 

Jfonna  oa  rona   eo    o    mointle  oa  bonala ;    rea  mo  rata. 
Man    of    U8    who  is  handsome  he  appears ;  we  him  love. 

S^MOAK. 

(Ja  afio  mai    lo  tatoa  tangata    an  lelei  ;  *  na  taton  alofa  ia  te  ia. 
There  comes      our        man     handsome ;        we       love  to  him. 

Plural. 

Sechuana. 

^anna  ha  rona   ha  ha         haintle       baa  honala;     rea    ha    rata. 
Men  of   us   who  are    handsome    they  appear;    we  ikem  lore. 

Samoak. 

Ua  afifio  mai  o  tatou  tangata  au  lelei ;  ua  tatou  alolofa  ia  te  i  latoo. 
There  come      our       men  handsome ;     we        love       to  them. 

Sechuana  Pronouns. 

The  Prefix-particle  is  used  as  a  pronoun — thus,  (othu  kia  ha  bona : 
the  people,  I  see  them.  Demonstrative  Pronoun — ftothn  hanoz 
these  people.  Pronoun  indicating  distance — &athu  6ale :  the  people 
yonder.     Separative  Pronoun — 6athu  &ahe  ?  which  people  ? 

Personal  Pronouns. 
Nominative.  AccusoHve. 


ki,      I.  re,      we. 

u,       thou.  lo,      you. 

o,       he  or  she.     ba»     they. 


'na^     me.  re,      us. 

gu,      you.  lo,      yon. 

mo,     himorher.  ba»     them. 


Emphatic  Pronoihts. 


'na,       I  or  mo. 

uena»    thou  or  thee. 

ena^      he  or  him ;  she  or  her. 


rona,      we  or  us. 

lona,      you. 

bona,     they  or  them. 


Possessive  Pronouns. 


oa  me,  mine, 
oa  gago,  thine, 
oa  gague,    his,  hers. 


oa  rona,    ours, 
oa  lona,     yours, 
oa  bona,    theirs. 


THE  RACES  OF  SOUTHERN  AFRICA, 


497 


Sechuana  Numerals. 

In  counting,  Bechnanas  invariably  begin  with  the  little  finger  of 
the  left  hand :  the  thumb  of  the  right  is  six,  and  the  little  finger  of 
the  right  hand  is  ten. 


ogwe 
peri 


one 

two 

taro three 

nne four 

tlano five 

tataro    .....  six 

shupa seven 

sia  menwana  meberi       .         .  eight 

sia  monwana  mongwehela       •  nine 

leshume  ....  ten 

leshume  le  coa  ka  ngwehela    .  eleven 
mashume  a  le  mabere     . 


two  threes. 

index. 

fold  down  two  fingers, 

fold  down  one  finger. 


ten  followed  by  one. 
twenty    tens  which  are  two. 

Instead  of  dividing  the  nouns  according  to  ideas  of  sex,  there  ar^ 
in  this  family  of  languages  a  number  of  classes  oi  nouns,  which  form 
their  plural  by  certain  prefixes,  according  to  fixed  rules.  The  fol* 
lowing  are  the  classes  in  Sechuana  : — 


Singular. 
traothu,  person      • 
more,  tree    . 
pitse,  horse  . 
'ncha  (intsha),  dog 
khomo,  ox  . 
thuto,  instruction 
noka,  river  . 
ngaka,  doctor 

&ogosi,  kingdom,  . 
lephvd,  dove 
loBeiOy  sieve 
«etlare,  tree 


Plural 
(othu,  persons, 
merey  trees, 
^ipitse,  horses, 
^tsha,  dogs. 
Zikhomo,  oxen. 
2tthuto,  teachings, 
^tnoka^  rivers, 
^ingaka,  doctors. 

magosi,  kingdoms, 
maphui,  doves. 
Zttselo,  sieves. 
^ttUre,  trees. 


Sechuana  Verb. 


Aorist. 
Ki  le  ka  rata. 
Ki  le  ka  ratoa. 


The  verb  is  very  copious.    I  give  only  a  few  of  the  forms. 

Gk)  rata»  to  love. 
Pres,        Imperfect,      Perfect. 
A  etive.     Kia  rata.       Ka  rata.       Ki  ratile. 
Passive.  Kia  ratoa.     Ka  ratoa.     Ki  ratiloe. 

Act  Participle.    Morati,  he  who  loves. 
Pass,  Participle.  Moratoi,  he  who  is  loved. 

Kia  rat^la,  I  love  for  or  on  account  of. 

Kia  ratiaa,  I  cause  to  love. 

Kia  ratega^  I  become  loved ;  am  loveable. 

Elia  ithata,  I  love  myself. 

Participles.  Morateri,  moratisi,  morategi,  moithati. 

2l 


498  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

(b.)  Physical  Appearance. 

These  two  divisions  of  the  tribes  of  Southern  Africa 
differ  from  one  another  very  markedly  in  physical  appear- 
ance. Early  writers  were  struck  with  the  resemblance 
borne  by  members  of  the  first  class  to  the  Chinese  or 
Mongolian  features.  It  was  especially  noticed  that  they 
were  characterized  by  the  same  peculiarly  set  eyes.  Their 
woolly  hair  was  never  abundant,  but  was  dotted  over  their 
head  like  clumps  of  bushes  scattered  here  and  there  on  a 
barren  knoll.  Their  colour  varied  from  a  pale  or  dirty 
white  in  some,  to  a  dusky  bronze  colour  in  others,  the 
majority  being  lighter  in  colour  than  many  Chinamen,  and 
some  inhabitants  of  the  South  of  Europe.  The  second 
division  approach  the  Arab  caste  of  feature  in  the  Zola 
and  Kaffir,  and  the  Negro  type  in  the  Makoba  and  the 
Damara.  Their  woolly  hair  is  abundant ;  and  the  Makoba 
and  Makalaka  might  be  called  hairy  from  the  appearance 
of  the  breast  and  face  of  the  men.  The  Griquas  are  a 
mixed  people,  and  many  of  them  are  half-castes.  On  the 
mother's  side  they  belong  to  one  or  other  of  the  Hottentot 
tribes.  The  tallest  men  in  the  first  family  would  be  fom^ 
amongst  the  Eorannas;  but  they  are  slightly  made,  and 
apparently  not  possessed  of  much  physical  power.  The 
finest  men  in  the  second  family  would  no  doubt  be  found 
amongst  the  Zulus  and  Kaffirs. 

(c.)  Religious  and  Social  Customs,  Mode  of  Building 
Houses  and  Laying  out  Towns. 

Whilst  there  are  many  of  the  observances  of  Fetichism 
common  to  both  these  families,  there  are  other  customs 
which  serve  to  distinguish  them.  Circumcision  is  practised 
by  the  second  family,  but  is  unknown  in  the  first,  some  of 
whom  practised  exsection  instead,  whilst  others  pierced  tba 
cartilage  of  the  nose,  and  inserted  a  small  piece  of  wood. 
All  the  members  of  the  second  family  are  tillers  of  ths 
soil,  while  agriculture  was  entirely  unknown  to  the  fiml 
family  when  they  met  with  Europeans. 

A  custom  which  tends  to  disconnect  the  Hottestol 
family  from  the  rest  of  the  South  African  tribes,  and  at  tte 


Hou«  ow  HoTTB,-roii.  Ko«A«»*^  ^„n  Gmjuai 


THE  RACES  OF  SOUTHERN  AFRICA.  499 

same  time  unites  them  to  Northern  nations,  may  be 
mentioned  here.  We  are  taught  that  our  English  word 
^  daughter "  may  be  traced  back  to  times  when  to  be  a 
daughter  was  to  be  the  milk-maid  of  the  family.  In  like 
manner  the  Hottentot  and  Koranna  women  are  still  the 
milkers  of  the  cows.  But  among  the  Kaffirs  and  Bechuanas 
and  other  tribes  of  the  Ba-ntu  family,  women  are  not 
allowed  even  to  enter  a  cattle-pen  while  the  cattle  are  in 
it.  It  is  customary  for  the  Bechuana  women  to  rnW  cow- 
dung  in  the  plaster  which  they  use  for  the  walls  of  their 
houses ;  but  I  have  often  seen  them  have  to  wait  patiently 
until  the  cattle  went  to  graze,  when  it  was  lawful  for  them  to 
enter  the  pen  to  collect  the  cow-dung.  Customs  could  not  be 
more  diametricaUy  opposed  than  in  this  instance.  In  this 
connection  the  inscriptions  on  the  walls  of  the  caves  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country,  described  by  Sir  John  Barrow, 
by  Sir  James  Alexander,  and  others,  assume  a  fresh  signifi- 
cance. Is  this  the  lingering  remnant  of  the  ancient  norUiem 
custom  which  caused  the  history  of  the  country  to  be  in- 
scribed upon  the  rocks  1  We  find  nothing  similar  among 
the  Ba-ntu  tribes. 

The  two  families  are  readily  distinguished  by  their 
different  modes  of  house-building.  The  "house"  of  a 
Bushman  in  Cape  Colony  is  thus  described  by  Barrow : — 
^  The  horde  or  kraal  consisted  of  five-and-twenty  huts, 
each  made  of  a  small  grass  mat  bent  into  a  semicircle, 
and  fastened  down  between  two  sticks — open  before,  but 
closed  behind  with  a  second  mat.  They  were  about  three 
feet  high  and  four  feet  wide,  and  the  ground  in  the  middle 
-was  dug  out  like  the  nest  of  an  ostrich ;  a  little  grass  strewed 
in  this  hollow  served  as  their  bed,  in  which  they  seemed  to 
have  lain  coiled  round  in  the  manner  of  some  quadrupeds."^ 
This  traveller  might  have  added,  in  the  manner  of  some 
bipeds  also,  when  they  are  cold  in  bed  1 

Like  the  hut  of  the  Bushman,  that  of  the  Hottentot  and 
Xoranna  is  without  proper  walls  as  distinct  from  the  roof. 
It  is  constructed  of  mats,  made  of  reeds  or  rushes,  which 
are  stretched  over  poles,  so  bent  as  to  be  of  a  dome  shape 

1  Barrow,  voL  i  p.  276. 


500  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIYER. 

at  the  top,  while  the  house  is  of  a  circular  fonn  at  the 
bottom.  The  door  is  a  mat  similar  to  those  of  which  the 
house  itself  is  made.  When  it  became  necessaiy  for  these 
pastoral  people  to  remove  to  another  locality  with  their 
flocks  and  herds,  it  was  easy  to  untie  the  mats  from  the 
poles  which  constituted  the  skeleton  of  the  hut,  roll  them 
up,  and  pack  them  on  an  ox  or  the  women's  heads.  At 
the  new  station  fresh  poles  were  soon  cut  and  bent  into 
position,  the  mats  spread  over,  and  the  shepherd  was  as 
much  at  home  as  before. 

It  is  worthy  of  observation,  that  in  Bechuana-land  the 
Bushman  does  not  attempt  the  rush  or  mat  house,  as  he 
did  in  the  Cape  Colony.  As  in  the  latter  place  he  imitated 
the  houses  of  his  pastoral  neighbours,  so  in  Bechuana-Iand, 
and  in  districts  where  reeds  and  rushes  abound,  he  imitates 
the  house  of  the  Bechuanas.  His  ordinary  hut  is  usually 
constructed  of  withered  branches  of  a  suitable  length,  tli^ 
ends  of  which  are  rested  against  the  stem  of  a  tree;  a 
quantity  of  loose  grass  is  thrown  over  for  a  roof^  with,  it 
may  be,  the  raw  hide  of  an  antelope  to  keep  everything  in 
its  place.  But  it  is  when  you  come  upon  one  of  their  little 
villages  in  Bechuana-land  that  you  see  what  seems  to 
be  the  highest  architectural  effort  of  the  Bushman.  The 
result  is  ^*  metlagana,"  the  hunting  or  garden  huts  of  the 
Bechuanas,  which  are,  in  point  of  fact,  the  roofs  of  Bechoana 
houses  without  the  walls.  When  travelling,  I  have  seen 
expert  Makalaka  raise  a  house  of  this  description,  and 
thatch  it  so  as  to  keep  out  the  rain,  in  a  few  minutes. 

The  Zulus  and  the  Bechuanas  build  walls  of  wattle  and 
clay,  with  roofs  of  grass,  the  house  being  round  in  shj^e. 
The  Zulu  hut  is  lower  than  that  of  the  Bechuanas,  and  Uie 
doorway,  if  possible,  lower  and  narrower.  The  Zahn 
make  a  wicker-work  door  for  their  house ;  the  Bechuanas 
use  a  board,  which,  as  they  have  no  saw,  they  obtain  by 
dressing  down  a  large  tree  with  their  little  adzes  and  axes. 
The  grass  thatch  is  not  stitched  to  the  rafters,  but  secured 
by  cords  of  bark  arranged  obliquely  over  it,  like  the  straw 
rope  binding  over  the  thatch  of  a  corn-rick.  The  houses 
of  some  tribes  of  Bechuanas  have  two  waUs^  the  roof 


THE  RACES  OF  SOUTHERN  AFRICA.  601 

extending  over  both.  The  space  between  these  walls — ^to 
which  there  is  more  than  one  entrance,  is  used  as  a  sleep- 
ing-place in  summer,  as  well  as  for  noon-day  repose. 
There  are  cabins  within  the  United  Kingdom — or  they 
have  very  recently  been  removed — which  are  certainly  less 
comfortable  in  every  point  of  view  than  a  well-built 
Bechuana  hut. 

The  character  and  disposition  of  the  different  tribes  are 
exemplified  by  the  manner  in  which   they  lay  out  their 
towns.     In  a  Hottentot  or  Koranna  town,  the  houses  are 
in  the  middle,  surrounded  by  the  cattle  enclosure.     The 
latter  is  now  usually  dispensed  with,  since  lions  have  dis- 
appeared from  their  neighbourhood,  and  their  cattle,  which 
are  very  tame,  form  an  irregular  belt  round  their  houses. 
A  Zulu  town,  on  the  other  hand,  is  built  round  the  cattle- 
pen.     The  listless    Eorannaa    are    surrounded  by  their 
cattle;    the  warlike  Zulus  surround,  that  they  may  the 
better  defend  and  retain  that  which  they  have  probably 
taken  by  force.   In  the  laying  out  of  the  towns  of  the  Basutos, 
Bechuanas,  Mashonas,  and  Makalakas  we  find  an  approach 
to  a  higher  civilisation,  in  the  subdivision  of  property — 
,  the  recognition  of  individual  rights,  and  the  adaptation  of 
the  town  to  the  pursuit   of  the  peaceful  arts  of  rude 
industry.     Whilst  there  is  the  great  cattle-pen  close  to  the 
public  courtyard  of  the  town,  each  subdivision  has  its  own 
head  man,  its  own  pen  for  cattle,  and  fold  for  sheep  and 
goats.     We  leave  the  three  South  African  towns  to  point 
their  own  moral.     Despotism  is  to  be  found  in  the  garri- 
Bon-town  of  the  Zulu,  where  private  property  is  all  but 
unknown,    where  war  is   constantly    waged,   and  secret 
assassination  common.     "  Liberty,  equality,  and  fraternity  " 
— after  a  certain  fashion  — ^were  to  be  found  in  the  insecure 
villages  of  the  pastoral  Korannas  and  Namaquas,  who  were 
without  chief,  or  public  assembly,  or  government ;  where 
all  property  was  of  course  private;  and  where  drinking 
milk  and  basking  in  the  sun  were  the  only  engagements 
of  the  day.     Reverence  for  authority,  with  the  assertion 
of  individual  rights,  are  to  be  found  in  the  more  happily 
constituted  Bechuana  and  Mashona  communities,  where 


602  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

the  power  of  the  chief,  being  modified  by  the  voice  of  the 
people,  is  sufficient  to  preserve  cohesion  and  order,  without 
altogether  discouraging  or  repressing  private  enterprise  or 
industry. 

(d.)  Dress  and  Weapons  of  War. 

It  would  not  be  interesting,  nor  is  it  at  all  necessary,  to 
particularize  the  tribal  fashion  or  dress  of  the  different 
nations  of  Southern  Africa.     The  following  description  in- 
cludes them  all :  — ^A  cincture  or  cinctures  round  the  loins, 
of  various  shapes,  of  greater  or  less  dimensions,  and  more 
or  less  ornamented  with  shells  or  metal,  or,  in  recent  times, 
with  beads ;  a  head-dress  which  might  be  only  a  feather, 
or  a  flower,  or  a  string  of  beads,  or  it  might  be  a  cap 
made  of  the  striped  zebra's  skin,  or  of  the  wann  fur  of  th^ 
jackal  or  wild  cat ;  the  large  mantle  or  kaross,  worn  as  a 
blanket  in  the  night,  and  in  winter  during  the  day  also, 
made  of  the  dressed  fur  skins  already  referred  to,  or  of  the 
skin  of  the  ox  or  antelope;  with  the  small  mantle  in 
general  use  among  Bechuanas  as  an  ordinary  artide  of 
clothing.     These  are  the  articles  of  dress  worn  by  the 
uncivilized  inhabitants  of  Southern  Africa,  and  have  been 
so,  with  unimportant  changes,  from  earliest  time&     Some 
tribes,  such  as  the  Mashona,  prefer  clothing  made  by  tiiem- 
selves  from  the  cotton  which  grows  in  their  country,  to 
skin  clothing  as  worn  farther  south.     But  the  majority  ol 
the  tribes  found  it  easier  to  dress  the  skins  of  the  animala 
killed  by  them  in  the  chase,  or  caught  in  the  hopo.     The 
Bechuanas   dress  the  skins  very  creditably;    patch    the 
bullet  or  spear  holes,  so  that  they  cannot  be  detected,  and 
dye  the  inside  with  the  bark  of  a  plant  which  makes  it  of 
a  red  colour.     Upon  examination  of  their  work,  a  funier  in 
this  country  told  me  he  could  make  no  improvement  on  it» 
The  abundance  of  the  game  supplies  articles  of  clothing 
not  only  to  the  aborigines  but  to  many   of  the  Dotch 
settlers  and  poorer  colonists  in  remote  districts  at  the 
sent  day,  and  Barrow  mentions  that  at  the  end  of 
century  the  Dutch  colonists   wore  little   else  than 
clothing. 


CO 


^ 


p 


9 

X 


THE  KACES  OF  SOUTHERN  AFRICA.  603 

The  warlike  weapons  of  the  present,  and  no  doubt  of  the 
long  past,  are  similar  to  those  used  by  many  other  barbar- 
ous nations.  The  strongest  and  most  warlike  tribes,  such 
as  the  Zulus  and  KaflSrs,  use  the  shortest  weapons,  showing 
that  they  were  in  the  habit  of  coming  to  close  quarters  in 
war.  Their  spears  have  short  handles,  and  the  Zulus 
never  throw  them,  but  sometimes  in  the  heat  of  an  en- 
gagement break  off  the  wooden  part,  that  they  may  use 
the  blade  as  a  knife  or  dagger.  With  a  sword  which  was 
only  fifteen  inches  long  the  Romans  conquered  the  world ; 
and  in  Southern  Africa  the  men  with  the  short  weapon 
possessed  the  finest  parts  of  the  country.  An  inunense 
shield  of  cow-hide  is  carried  by  the  Zulus  to  war;  a 
smaller  one  is  used  in  their  own  country  even  in  time  of 
peace.  The  "  knob-kerie,"  like  the  shillelah  in  Ireland,  is 
chiefly  used  in  time  of  peace  to  settle  disputes,  '^  in  a  friendly 
way.'*  Next  we  have  the  spears  and  battle-axes  of  the  less 
warlike  Bechuanas  and  Basutos,  the  former  of  which  they  are 
accustomed  to  throw,  whilst  they  trust  to  the  chaka  or 
battle-axe  should  they  come  to  close  quarters.  The  chiefs 
and  head  men  are  sometimes  provided  with  a  spear,  barbed 
so  profusely  that  it  cannot  at  once  be  withdrawn  from  the 
body  which  it  has  pierced.  Whilst  the  wounded  man 
seeks  to  extract  this  cruel  weapon,  he  is  put  to  death  by 
his  assailant.  The  Bechuana  shield  is  smaller  than  the 
war-shield  of  the  Zulus ;  and  those  of  the  chiefs  are  so  cut 
and  carved  as  to  leave  very  little  to  protect  the  wearer. 
Lastly,  we  have  the  bows  and  arrows,  used,  strange  to 
say,  at  the  two  extremes  of  South  African  society — ^by  the 
industrious  and  semi-civilized  Mashonas,  and  by  the  Bush- 
man, the  restless,  roving  child  of  the  desert — the  furthest 
removed,  not  by  stupidity,  but  by  tradition,  habit,  and 
liking,  from  a  settled  and  ci>dlized  mode  of  life.  But 
what  the  diminutive  weapon  of  the  Bushman  loses  in 
force,  as  compared  with  that  of  the  Mashona,  is  more  than 
made  up  by  the  deadly  poison  which  he  places  on  the 
point  of  his  arrow.  He  needs  but  to'  see  that  the  arrow 
has  entered  the  body  of  the  antelope,  to  feel  sure  of  his 
.  prize.     But  for  the  custom  of  rubbing  their  arrows  with  a 


504  KORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

paste  in  wHch  is  mixed  up  the  poison  extracted  from  the 
fangs  of  snakes,  from  several  plants,  and  it  is  said  from  a 
certain  deposit  in  the  cleftfl  of  rocks  in  the  Cape  Colony — 
the  Bushmen  would  probably  have  been  exterminated  by 
their  native  neighbours.  Having  reached  the  confines  of 
the  southern  part  of  the  continent,  they  lived  as  roving 
banditti,  and  in  their  inaccessible  retreats  managed  to 
"hold  their  own"  among  then:  neighbours.  It  was  re- 
served for  the  gun  to  cope  with  and  to  overcome  the 
poisoned  arrow.  It  is  sad  that  the  process  should  have 
been  so  much  a  war  of  extermination. 

SECTION  III. — ^POSSIBLE  PHYSICAL  EFFECTS  OF  CLUCATE 
AND  FOOD  ON  BUSHMEN  AND  OTHER  TRIBES. 

There  are  physical  differences  between  members  of  the 
same  tribe  which  would  seem  to  be  referable  to  the  out- 
ward conditions  under  which  they  exist.  For  instance, 
the  Bushmen  who  formerly  inhabited  part  of  what  is  now 
the  Cape  Colony,  were  a  much  shorter  race  than  those  still 
to  be  found  in  Bechuana-land.  Early  travellers  describe 
the  Bushman  as  often  under  five  feet  in  height.^  These 
about  Kuruman  are  a  degree  taller  than  this ;  while  the 
Masarwa  or  Bushmen  belonging  to  Sechele  and  the  tribes 
in  his  neighbourhood,  approach  the  average  height  of  the 
Makalahari  or  Bechuana  vassals  of  these  tribes,  who  also 
live  in  the  open  country,  and  are  subject  to  many  hard- 
ships in  common  with  the  Bushmen.  In  the  country  be- 
tween Shoshong  and  the  Zambese  there  is  a  tribe  of  Bosh- 
men  called  Madenassana,  who  are  as  remarkable  for  their 
tallness  and  stalwart  appearance  as  were  the  tribes  in  the 
colony  for  their  shortness  of  stature.  Their  features,  their 
language,  their  mode  of  life,  their  state  of  vassalage,  all 
betoken  them  to  be  Bushmen.  And  yet  finer  men  than 
some  of  them  I  have  not  seen  anywhere  in  Southern  Africa. 

^  In  a  Bushman  kraal  of  some  twenty-five  huts,  inhabited  by  perbapslSO 
people,  the  tallest  man  measured  by  Barrow,  in  1707,  was  4  feet  9  inches  ia 
height ;  the  tallest  woman  4  feet  4  inches,  and  one  woman  who  bad  bone 
several  children,  was  only  3  feet  9  inches  in  height. 


THE  RACES  OF  SOUTHERN  AFRICA.  505 

Whilst  they  have  bows  and  arrows,  they  employ  spears 
also,  in  the  hunb,  which  are  remarkably  heavy  and  formi- 
dable.    When  I  passed  through  their  country,  I  found  that 
they  were  not  only  able  to  supply  their  own  wants  by 
hunting,  but  also  to  provide  meat  for  the  Makalaka  in 
their  neighbourhood,  who  gave  them  com   in  exchange. 
The  other  Bushmen  belonging  to  the  Bamangwato,  and 
scattered  over  the  country  as  far  north  as  the  Zambese,.are 
not  so  tall  as  the  Madenassana,  but  on  the  other  hand,  I 
have  neither  seen  nor  heard  of  any  among  them  so  short  as 
the  Bushman  of  the  colony.     Their  average  height  is  a 
little  under  that  of  the  Makalahari  and  Makhurutse,  their 
companions  in  vassalage  in  Bechuana-land,  whilst  many 
individuals  might  be  found  amongst  them  as  tall  and  as 
powerful  as  could  be  shown  from  among  their  neighbours. 
Again,  the  Bushmen  of  the  Gape  Colony  and  the  southern 
part  of  Bechuana-land  are  a  degree  lighter  in  colour  than 
those   of  their   own   tribe  living  farther  north.     In  the 
same  way  the  southern  tribes  of  Bechuanas, — ^the  Batlaping, 
Batlware,  and  others, — are  lighter  in  colour  and  shorter  in 
stature  than  those  living  in  the  northern  part  of  the  same 
country,  such  as  the  Bamangwato.     The  country  of  the 
Batlaping  is  more  arid  and  devoid  of  moisture  than  is  the 
country  of  the  Bamangwato.     Then  the  Bamangwato  reside 
in  a  less  humid  country  than  that  of  the  Bamapela  to  the 
north-east  or  the  Makoba  and  Mashubea  on  the  north-west. 
The  last-mentioned  tribes  are  all  darker  than  the  Bamang- 
wato.    The  Bamangwato  themselves  separated  about  one 
hundred  years  ago,  a  portion  of  the  tribe  settling  at  the 
Lake  Ngami,  whilst  the  remainder  took  up  their  abode  on 
the  range  of  mountains  on  which  their  present  town  of 
Shoshong  is  placed.     It  is  my  opinion,  after  having  visited 
the  lake,  that  if  twenty  or  thirtjr  Bamangwato  from  Sho- 
shong were  drawn  at  random  and  placed  alongside  the 
same  number  of  Batowana  or  Bamangwato  from  the  lake, 
a  stranger  would  be  able  to  distinguish  the  latter  by  the 
greater  darkness  of  their  complexion.     Thus  it  would  seem 
that  the  further  you  recede  from  heat  and  moisture  in 
Southern  Africa,  the  lighter  is  the  complexion,  the  more 


506  NOBTH  OF  THE  ORAITGE  EIVER. 

scanty  the  hair,  until  you  come  to  the  light-coloured 
Hottentot  and  Bushman  of  the  Cape  Colony,  the  scattered 
"'dots  "  of  woolly  hair  on  whose  head  suggest  that  if  the 
process  had  only  gone  a  little  further,  we  should  ha?e 
found  men  without  any  hair  on  their  heads  at  alL 

But  these  are  not  the  only  differences  which  would  seem 
to  be  traceable  to  physical  causes.     Where  there  is  moisture 
there  is  abundant  vegetation,  and  the  country  is  clothed 
with  trees  and  shrubs  which  afford  deUghtfhl  shade  to  the 
inhabitants.     The  opposite  of  this  is  the  case  in  the  arid 
plain,  where  the  traveller  has  no  shelter  but  the  ^  shadow 
of  a  great  rock  "  in  the  "  wearjr  land."     The  natives  of  the 
tree-bearing  countries  have  large  full  eyes,  the  eyelids  and 
eyebrows  being  usually  not  wrinkled  or  compressed ;  the 
more  arid  the  country  the  smaller  the  eyes  of  the  inhabit 
tants,  and  the  more  compressed  and  ^'  puckered  "  the  parts 
surrounding  the  eye.  For  instance,  the  Makoba  on  the  Zouga 
river  have  usually  large  mild  eyes,  which  are  almost  equalled 
by  those  of  the  Makalaka.     Coming  southward  to  the  drier 
district  of  Shoshong,  we  find  the  eyes  of  the  Bamangwalio  a 
degree  smaller.     In  the  still  more  arid  district  of  Kanimaii» 
the  Batlaping  have  smaller  eyes  still ;  and  if  we  go  £uther 
south  into  districts  completely  treeless,  we  find  among  the 
Korannas,  Hottentots,  and  Bushmen,  the  smallest  eyee  in 
the  country. 

Lastly,  where  there  is  moisture  in  Southern  Africa 
there  is  usually  plenty  of  food,  which,  of  course,  has 
an  important  effect  in  the  development  of  the  physical 
frame.  Receding  southward  from  heat  and  moisture  and 
plenty,  we  come  to  those  who  have  had  to  struggle  at 
increasing  odds  to  obtain  a  subsistence.  Passing  the 
Makalahari  and  the  Bushmen  of  Bechuana-land,  and  com- 
ing  to  the  former  Bushmen  of  the  Cape  Colony,  we  find 
that  where  the  struggle  was  greatest,  there  the  phjrsical 
deterioration  was  greatest  also.  We  are  accustomed  to 
believe  that  the  difficulties  connected  with  human  existence 
amid  the  mists  and  fogs  and  colds  of  these  northern  Eoro- 
pean  latitudes,  have  in  themselves  led  to  the  development 
of  a  higher  manhood  than  is  to  be  found  where  these  out- 


THE  RACES  OF  SOUTHERN  AFRICA.        507 

ward  difficulties  are  not  so  great.  This  is  true,  however, 
only  up  to  a  certain  point ;  beyond  that,  difficulties  from 
their  vastness  would  seem  to  cease  to  have  a  stimulating 
influence.  The  difficulties  connected  with  life  in  England 
and  in  Germany  may  have  helped  to  develop  in  the  in- 
habitants of  these  countries  greater  energy  and  patience 
than  are  possessed  by  the  Italian  or  the  Spaniard.  But 
where  instead  of  the  mists  and  fogs  of  our  own  island  man 
has  to  face  the  snow  and  frost  and  darkness  of  the  arctic 
regions,  he  wraps  himself  in  his  furs,  eats  his  tallow,  and 
lives  the  life  of  a  Laplander. 

Deterioration  would  thus  seem  to  be  at  least  suggested 
by  what  we  know  of  the  past  history  of  the  Bushmen.  If 
it  is  granted  that  they  travelled  southward,  and  if  the 
bulk  of  their  tribes  gave  place  to  those  who  were  stronger 
than  themselves  rather  than  remain  as  their  vassals,  then, 
if  we  institute  a  comparison  between  those  who  did  remain 
as  vassals  in  Bechuana-land,  and  those  who  removed  into 
the  more  inhospitable  country  of  the  Cape  Colony,  the 
difference  between  them  would  seem  to  be  fairly  traceable 
to  their  difierent  outward  circumstances.  Driven  into  a 
region  where  they  had,  all  naked  as  they  were,  to  contend 
with  snow  in  winter— with  the  withering  glare  of  an  African 
sun  every  day  in  a  treeless  region, — now  over-fed  with  meat, 
now  scattered  over  the  plain,  digging  with  their  curious 
sticks  the  innutritions  and  indigestible  bulbs  and  roots, 
whose  effects  on  the  system  could  only  have  been  injurious, 
while  in  the  meantime  allaying  the  pangs  of  hunger :  in 
these  distressing  circumstances  we  seem  to  have  an  adequate 
reason  for  the  deterioration  of  the  Bushmen  in  the  colony, 
as  compared  with  those  in  Bechuana-land.  And  certainly 
their  mode  of  life,  viewed  by  itself,  was  such  as  would  have 
told  injuriously  in  the  course  of  time  upon  the  strongest 
European  constitution.^ 

1  The  Dutch  colonists  have  not  undergone  much  change  during  their 
sojourn  in  the  Cape  Colony.  Those  who  were  originally  dark-complexioned, 
are  now  of  the  colour  of  the  inhabitants  of  Southern  Europe.  Light- 
complexioned  people  are  usually  ruddier  than  in  Holland.  Excessive 
corpulence  in  both  men  and  women  is  the  chief  distinguishing  physical 


608  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

In  concluding  this  review  of  the  South  African  rac^ 
the  tribal  peculiarities  of  the  people  might  be  summed 
up  as  follows : — The  Bushmen,  whose  only  domestic  animal 
is  the  dog,  and  who  neither  till  the  soil  nor  possess  flocks 
or  herds,  are  the  most  diminutive  physically;  the  most 
acute  in  their  senses;  the  most  fickle  and  uncertain  in 
their  disposition  and  movements;  the  most  careless  and 
reckless  of  consequences.  The  Makalaka,  who  live  chiefly 
by  tilling  the  soil,  are  the  most  clumsy  in  their  appearance 
and  movements ;  the  most  peaceful  in  their  disposition ; 
and  the  most  respectful  to  their  women.  A  Makalaka 
man  swears  by  his  mother,  not  by  his  father,  as  do  the 
other  tribes.  Amongst  those  who  possess  flocks  and  herds, 
and  at  the  same  time  till  the  soil,  the  Zulus  and  Kaffirs 
are  the  most  warlike  of  all  the  tribes;  while  the  Bechuanas 
and  Mashonas  are  the  most  advanced  in  civilisation. 

characteristic  of  the  Dutch  in  South  Africa.  The  country  which  was  so 
inhospitable  to  the  Bushman  who  trusted  solely  to  its  spontaneous  bounty, 
has  become  a  pleasant  home  for  the  man  of  intelligence  and  resource,  who 
cultivates  the  soil,  shields  himself  from  the  elements  by  rearing  a  comfort- 
able residence,  and  whose  clothing  and  part  of  whose  food  come  from 
distant  quarters  of  the  globe.  That  the  Cape  Colony  is  conducive  to  the 
health  of  Europeans  is  shown  by  the  following  figures  taken  from  the 
Census  of  1865.    In  a  total  population  of  496,831,  there  were — 

People  who  were  65  years  of  age  and  under  70      .        19,152 
„       „         70  „        „  100      .         6,102 

„       „  above  100  ..  .  63 


THE  CONTACT  OF  EUROPEANS  WITH  THE 
NATIVES  OF  SOUTHERN  AFRICA. 

It  is  the  custom  for  even  educated  persons  to  include 
*'  all  these  Africans  "  and  "  all  these  black  people  "  in  some 
sweeping  statement,  as  if  what  is  true  of  one  tribe  were 
true  of  all.  Whatever  may  be  the  case  with  reference  to 
the  coloured  inhabitants  of  America  or  Australia,  this 
does  not  hold  good  when  spoken  of  the  natives  of  Southern 
Africa,  any  more  than  of  the  inhabitants  of  Europe  or  Asia. 
I  have  described  the  marked  differences  which  prevail 
among  the  natives  of  Southern  Africa  as  to  language, 
habits,  and  customs.  These  are  stiU  further  brought  out, 
if  we  consult  the  past  history  of  their  contact  with  Euro- 
peans. Differing  from  one  another  in  traditions  and  habits, 
their  contact  with  Europeans  has  led  in  each  case  to  a 
different  result,  which  has  had  an  evident  connection  with 
the  peculiar  character  and  habits  of  the  tribe.  To  illustrate 
this,  I  proceed  to  give  a  very  brief  sketch  of  the  contact 
of  Europeans  with  Bushmen,  Hottentots,  Kaf&rs,  and 
Bechuanas. 

Bushmefa. 

The  Bosjesmans  (Bushes-men)  were  the  sworn  enemies 
of  aU  the  other  South  African  tribes,  before  the  white  man 
appeared  on  the  scene.  They  were  not  swept  away  by 
the  pastoral  Hottentots  and  the  pastoral  and  agricultural 
Kafirs  and  Bechuanas,  simply  because  their  poisoned 
arrows  and  mountain  fastnesses  were  suf&cient  to  baffle 
such  foes.  But  the  Dutchmen  shot  them  down  as  vermin. 
Barrow  relates  that  when  on  the  frontier,  '^  a  Boer  being 
asked,  in  the  Secretary's  ofSce,  if  the  savages  were  numer- 
ous or  troublesome  on  the  road,  replied  that  he  had  only 
shot  four,  with  as  much  composure  and  indifference  as  if 


510 


NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 


he  had  been  speaking  of  four  partridges."  The  same 
author  says  he^  heard  one  colonist  boast  of  having  de- 
stroyed with  his  own  hand  nearly  three  hundred  of  these 
unfortunate  wretches.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  to 
say  that  Dutchmen  have  been  exceptionally  impatient  and 
bloodthirsty.  The  "Bushes-men"  of  America  and  of 
Australia  (differing  in  personal  appearance,  but  the  same  in 
habit  and  custom)  have  been  killed  off-hand  in  the  same  way. 
The  reward  of  "twenty  dollars  apiece  fwr  Indian  scalps  with 
ears  on,"  was  offered  only  a  few  years  ago  by  the  Colo- 
radan  capital.^  But  according  to  the  published  records  of 
the  Cape  Colony,  English  vengeance  in  South  AMca  was 
not  quite  so  swift  or  so  heavy  as  that  of  the  Dutch.  Be- 
tween the  years  1786-1795,  under  the  Dutch  Government, 
there  were,  Bushmen  killed,  2480  ;  made  prisoners,  654 ; 
giving  a  proportion  of  nearly  4  killed  to  1  taken  prisoner. 
Under  the  English  Grovemment  between  1813  and  1824, 
there  were,  Bushmen  killed,  97 ;  made  prisoners,  280 ; 
giving  a  proportion  of  1  killed  to  3  taken  prisoners.* 
We  sometimes  hear  people  on  platforms  and  elsewhere 

»  Oreater  Britain,  i.  180. 

'  I  obtain  these  figures  fh)m  the  foUowing  Table,  which  is  formed  from 
Beports  and  Records  at  Graaff  Beinet,  transmitted  to  GoTenunent  in 
March  1836 :— 


■ 

Killed. 

PrlBonere. 

Proportion  of 
KillMl  to 
PiiaoDan. 

Last  ten  years  of  Government  of) 
Dutch  East  India  Company.  > 
1786  to  1795, .        .        .        J 

English   and   Batavian   Qovem-) 
ments,  1795  to  1806,      .        .  f 

English    Government,    1813    to) 
1824,  from  Pari.   Papers,  p.  V 

W, / 

2480 

867 

97 

654 
252 
280 

4  to  1 
8  to  2 
1  to  3 

See  Beport  of  Committee  to  the  Subscribers  to  the  Fund  for  Printai^ 
and  Publishing  Documentary  Evidence  relative  to  the  Intercourse  of  tltt 
Colonists  and  Cape  Govehiment  with  the  Native  Tribes,  by  Hon.  B. 
Cloete,  LL.D.,  and  lieutenant-Colonel  Bird,  late  Colonial  Secretary,  p.  6. 


CONTACT  OF  EUROPEANS  WITH  NATIVES.        .    611 

talking  of  the  white  men  as  a  grand  advancing  army, 
before  which  the  blacks  melt  away.     Now  there  is  truth 
in  this,  as  to  Bushes-men — that  is,  the  men  who  have 
lived  exclusively  upon  what  Nature  spontaneously  yields, 
without  domesticated   animals  and   without  agriculture. 
But  even  with  reference  to  them,  there  seems  to  me  an 
air  of  mystery  thrown  over  this  matter  which  is  quite 
unnecessary.     A  rifle  bullet,  well  aimed,  puts  as  abrupt  an 
end  to  the  life  of  the  philosopher  as  to  that  of  the  Bushes- 
man.      There  is  nothing  mysterious,   nothing  poetical, 
about  a  war  of  extermination.      Nor  is  there  anything 
dreadful  or  hopeless,  considered  by  itself,  in  the  deter- 
mined position  assumed  by  these  wild  men,  which  is  simply 
that  they  will  live  and  die  in  the  customs  of  their  fore- 
fathers.    This  is  just  the  position  of  the  Hindoo  and  of 
thousands  of  Englishmen.     The  Hindoo  refuses  to  change 
one  iota  as  to  food  or  clothing  or  daily  habit.     Fortu- 
nately for  him  the  aims  and  pursuits  of  his  Western 
masters  do  not  directly  interfere  with  this  resolve.     If,  how- 
ever. Englishmen  in  India  had  some  commercial  object  in 
preventing  the  eating  of  curry  and  rice  in  that  countiy, 
and  in  insisting  that  all  Hindoos  should  live  on  beef,  and 
if,  when  the  Hindoos  persisted  in  stealing  rice  rather  than 
change  their  food,  they  were  shot  down  and  exterminated, 
we  should  have  something  like  what  has  taken  place  in  the 
history  of  all  Bushes-men.     The  white  man  destroys  their 
hereditary  food,  and  suddenly  renders  their  traditional 
mode  of  life  impossible.     The  wild  beasts  perish  before  the 
gun,  and  the  country  is  cut  up  into  farm-lots  and  sites  for 
towns.     The  Bushes-men  become  as  it  were  strangers  in 
their  own  country.     They  look  for  the  game ;  they  find 
only  sheep  and  cattle.     They  look  for  roots  and  berries ; 
they  find  that  the  old  familiar  spots  have  been  turned  over 
by  the  plough,  and  they  see  instead  the  com  of  the  white 
man  waving  in  the  summer  breeze.     But  as  they  have 
always   lived  on  what  they  find  in  the   open   country, 
they  will  do  so  still.     They  seize  sheep  and  cattle,  and, 
fleeing  into  the  wilderness,  slaughter  and  make  merry. 
For  them  they  see  no  other  way  of  living.     The  owner 


B12  KORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

of  the   stolen  animals  at  first   expostulates,   and  offers 
food  if  the  Bushes-man   will  work,   or  he   shows  him 
a  patch  of  ground,  and  invites  him  to  begin  life  as  a  cul- 
tivator of  the  soiL     He  might  as  well  ask  a  Hindoo  to 
apprentice  himself  to  a  butcher ;  or  an  English  squire,  aH, 
his  life  accustomed  to  his  gun  and  his  hounds,  but  whom 
sudden  ruin  has  overtaken,  to  escape  from  starvation  bj 
hiring  himself  to  the  neighbouring  owner  of  the  cotton-mill 
at  so  much  per  week.     Such  alternatives  would  in  each 
case  be  scornfully  rejected.     Did  not  God,  or  Brumha,  or 
Morimo,  or  the  Great  Spirit,  appoint  them  their  lot  in  life  t 
Other  men  might  Uve  on  a  narrow  farm  aUotment,  or 
butcher  cows,  or  assist  spinning-jennies.     They  prefer  to 
die   rather  than  forsake  family  traditions  and   customs. 
"  What  then  is  to  be  done  V*  asks  the  white  man,  leaning 
on   his  rifle.     ^' Leave  the  countiy,   and  the  game  will 
return,"  is  the  ready  solution  of  ihe  son  of  the  desert. 
But  just  as  it  seems  necessary  to  the  Bushes-man  to  live  on 
game  and  roots  only,  so  it  appears  quite  indispensable  to 
the  sheep-farmer  that  he  should  remain  in  that  country 
and  graze  his  flocks  on  those  plains,  and  nowhere  else. 
Still  it  is  always  with  great  compunction  and  misgiving 
that  the  European  Christian  man  shoots  down  the  first 
sheep-stealer  with  his  own  hand.     He  hears  a  voice  saying 
to  him,  "Thou  shalt  not  kill."     "Whatsoever  ye  would 
that  men  should  do  unto  you,  do  ye  even  so  unto  them.'' 
*^  How  much  is  a  man  better  than  a  sheep  t"    But  on  the 
frontier  a  callous  spirit  soon  takes  possession  of  a  maiL    Once 
blood  has  been  drawn,  to  shed  it  becomes  easier  every  day. 
At  first  the  Christian  colonist  thought  his  fine  estate  would 
be  dearly  bought,  if  bought  with  blood.    But  by  and  bye  the 
Bushes-man  is  ranked  with  the  snakes  and  the  wild  beasts, 
and  the  jungle  in  which  he  lives — all  are  to  be  swept  away. 
A  little  longer,  and  fanaticism  comes  to  his  assistance,  aitd 
assures  him  it  is  his  duty  to  shoot  down  a  doomed  race  ;  and 
extremely  clever  men  encourage  him  by  professing  to  show 
that  he  is  obeying  a  great "  law  of  Nature  "  in  displacing  an 
inferior  race.^   I  have  endeavoured  to  explain  that  the  reason 

1  This  taking  upon  ourselYes  the  working  ont  of  the  "  decrees  of  Pro- 


CONTACT  OF  EUROPEANS  WITH  NATIVES.  613 

for  extermination  in  the  Bushes-man  is  simply  the  plain  one, 
not  peculiar  to  himself,  that  he  wishes  to  stick  to  the  customs 
of  his  forefathers.  The  reason  that  Dutchmen  have  been 
the  executioners  of  a  race  in  Southern  Africa  was  certainly 
not  that  they  hated  the  Bushes-men  more  than  did  the 
Kafi&rs  and  Hottentots,  but  that  they  possessed  a  better 
weapon.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  there  was  no  im- 
perative necessity  for  their  extermination ;  for  KaflSrs  and 
Hottentots  had  been  able  to  practise  agriculture,  and  graze 
their  flocks  and  herds  within  sight  of  those  mountain 
ranges,  out  of  which  they  were  unable  to  dislodge  the 
Bushes-men.  And  if  this  was  possible,  to  these  comparatively 
unprotected  tribes,  how  much  more  might  the  well-armed 
Dutchman  have  done  so  ?  Again,  this  extermination  was 
unnecessary,  for  as  soon  as  the  English  appeared,  the 
death-rate  suddenly  decreased.  Thus  it  would  seem  that 
men  kill  men  wantonly,  because  it  is  easy  to  do  so,  and 
because  it  brings  a  settlement  of  a  difficulty.  What  if  it 
is  not  the  settlement  1  What  if  it  was  not  the  will  of 
God  that  these  degraded  men  should  be  shot  down  ?  Can 
we  think  of  our  Saviour  as  approving  of  such  slaughter  1 
Shall  we  teU  Him  some  story  about  a  "  doomed  race,"  or  an 
"  inferior  race"  1  At  any  rate  it  is  a  fact,  that  when,  in 
His  providence.  He  permitted  men  to  appear  in  Africa, 
able  to  exterminate  the  Bushes-man,  it  was  a  people  who, 
while  they  carried  the  gun,  possessed  also  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

Tidence  "  or  the  "laws  of  Nature/'  has  been  ezempUfled  in  the  manner  of 
the  persecution  of  the  Jews  by  Christendom,  and,  before  the  late  war,  in  the 
plainly-expressed  reasoning  of  learned  and  reverend  advocates  of  slavery 
in  the  Southern  States  of  America.  In  our  own  land  there  are  certain 
classes  who  prey  upon  the  weak  members  of  society,  and  most  efifectually 
destroy  them.  Ought  not  the  keeper  of  the  gin-palace  and  the  keepers  of 
other  nameless  houses  to  inscribe  above  their  doors,  "  For  the  fulfilment 
of  the  decree  of  Providence  and  the  law  of  Nature,  in  the  destruction  of 
the  weaklings  of  society  "  ?  And  ought  not  the  English  vessel  which  carries 
opium  to  China  to  hoist  a  flag  with  the  inscription,  "  FulfiUer  of  Divine 
Decrees  and  Laws  of  Nature  "  in  the  destruction  of  the  inferior  race  of 
Chinese? 


2k 


514  NORTH  OF  THE  ORAKGE  RIVER. 


HoUefUots. 

In  one  of  the  first  letters  which  I  sent  home  from  the 
Cape  Colony,  I  made  the  assertion  that  "  the  Hottentot 
race  was  fast  dying  out/'  and  again,  that  **  drink  was  ex- 
terminating the  Hottentots."  So  far  as  I  can  recollect, 
my  grounds  for  writing  this  was  simply  that  some  one 
whom  I  thought  worthy  of  confidence  had  told  me  so.  I 
saw  a  great  deal  of  drunkenness  among  these  people,  which 
I  regarded  as  an  attestation  of  the  truth  of  the  statement. 
I  find  that  others  have  had  the  same  vague  idea.  Nothing 
could  be  more  incorrect  than  this  assertion,  at  least  since 
the  time  the  colony  came  into  the  hands  of  the  Englislu 
Under  the  Dutch  sway,  indeed,  judging  from  such  evidence 
as  I  have  been  able  to  obtain,  there  would  seem  to  have 
been  no  increase  among  the  Hottentots.  In  1666,  Com- 
mander Wagenaar  estimated  the  fighting  men  of  one 
of  the  Hottentot  tribes  only  (the  Saldaniers)  at  about 
3000,  which  would  probably  give  a  total  population  of 
15,000.  This  was  the  largest  tribe  of  Hottentots  then 
known  to  the  Dutch,  but  there  were  several  smaller  ones. 
After  the  lapse  of  some  hundred  and  thirty  years  of  Dutch 
rule  from  the  time  of  Wagenaar,  the  total  Hottentot 
population  of  the  colony  was  estimated  by  Sir  John 
Barrow  at  not  more  than  15,000.  The  follovring  are 
Barrow's  figures:^ — 

Population  of  Cape  Colony : — 

Christians,      ....         21,746 

Slaves, 25,754 

Hottentots,     ....         14,447 


Total,         .         61,947 

The  Hottentots  were  never  absolutely  reduced  by  the 
Dutch  to  the  condition  of  slaves.  Overtures  in  this  direc- 
tion had  indeed  been  made  by  some  of  the  farmers,  be- 
fore the  advent  of  English  rule,  but  their  desires  had  not 
been  fulfilled.     But  if  not  slaves,  the  Hottentots  were 

*  Barrow,  voL  ii.  p.  878, 


CONTACT  OF  EUROPEANS  WITH  NATIVES.  515 

far  from  being  free  men.     They  occupied  a  position  some- 
what similar  to  the  serfs  and  villeins  of  other  countries. 
They  could  not  be  bought  or  sold,  and,  according  to  law, 
were  permitted  to  claim  their  freedom  when  twenty-five 
years  of  age.     But  other  laws  existed  which  nullified  this 
liberty.     It  was  enacted  by  the  Dutch  Government  that 
if  a  Hottentot  child  received  a  piece  of  meat  from  the 
colonist,  that  act  constituted  it  also  a  vassal  until  it  should 
be  twenty-five  years  of  age.^     Thus,  when  the  parents  were 
twenty-five  years  of  age,  their  children  were  all  in  bondage, 
which  practically  bound  the  Hottentot  to  his  Dutch  master 
for  life.     And  should  he  insist  on  leaving,  there  was  a  law 
by  which  he  could  be  arrested  as  a  "  vagrant  Hottentot." 
There  was  no  political  cohesion  among  the  Hottentots ;  and 
little  opposition  was  shown  by  them  to  the  Dutch.     Had 
the  latter  continued  to  govern  the  colony  it  is  probable 
that  the  former  would,  in  the  course  of  time,  have  passed 
away,  and  we  should  have  thought  of  them  as  "  having 
given  place  to  a  superior  race."     But  the  advent  of  the 
English   Government,   and  of  Christian  instruction,  pro- 
duced a  phenomenon  among  the  Hottentots  as  marked  as 
that  to  which  we  called  attention  in  the  case  of  the  Bush- 
men.    Those  who  were  decreasing  under  Dutch  rule  began 
to  increase  imder  the  sway  of  the  English.     Regarding 
Barrow's  figures  as  being  at  any  rate  near  the  truth,  we 
find  that  the  Hottentot  population  of  the  colony  doubled 
itself  in  the  first  thirty  years  of  English  rule.     It  was  re- 
ported to  Sir  T.  F.  Buxton's  committee  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  in  1836,  that  the  Hottentots  then  numbered 
some    32,000.     Taking  this  estimate  as  approximately 
correct,  it  will  be  seen  that  a  steady  increase  continued 
during  the  next  thirty  years.     In  1866,  the  first  elaborate 
census  of  the  population  of  the  Cape  Colony  was  taken. 
From  the  information  then  collected,  tables  were  formed, 
showing,  with  other  important  information,  the  sex,  age, 
and  race  of  the  mixed  inhabitants.     The  races  are  given 
under  the  divisions  of  "  European,"  "  Hottentot,"  Kaffir," 
and    "other."     Under  the   "Hottentot"  column,  I  find 

1  Barrow,  vol.  i.  p.  146. 


516  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

the  following  figures,  which  do  not  include  British  KafiPra- 
ria,  or  what  is  now  the  divisions  of  King  William's  Town 
and  East  London : — 

Western  Division  of  Colony,    .         .         52,637 
Eastern    '  „  .         .         28,961 


Total  Hottentot  population  in  1865,     81,598 

I  do  not  profess  to  explain  the  cause  of  the  decrease  of 
the  Hottentot  population  under  Dutch  rule.  I  do  not 
find  that  many  Hottentots  were  killed  in  open  warfare. 
Disease,  indeed,  carried  away  more  than  the  Dutch  killed 
in  battle.  We  are  told  that  soon  after  the  occupation  of 
the  Cape  by  the  Dutch  the  Hottentots  were  "  very  much 
diminished,  and  melted  away"  by  "a  sickness"  among 
them.  The  small-pox  also  committed  fearful  and  re- 
peated ravages  during  the  period  of  the  Dutch  supre- 
macy. But  this  leaves  the  question  unsolved,  for  both 
small-pox  and  typhus  fever,  which  may  have  been  the 
"sickness"  referred  to  by  Wagenaar,  haVe  ravaged  the 
colony  since  it  came  into  the  hands  of  the  English.  This 
much  seems  to  be  clear,  that  a  race  which  was  decreasing 
in  a  state  of  serfdom,  increases  in  a  state  of  freedom ;  and 
that  contact  with  Europeans,  under  English  government^ 
and  with  Christian  training,  has  not  been  prejudicial  to  the 
Hottentot  race.  In  connection  with  this  increase  of  the 
Hottentot  population,  it  must  be  mentioned  that  Uving  as 
they  do  in  the  midst  of  Europeans  and  Kaffirs  in  colonial 
villages  and  farms,  such  connections  have  been  formed  as 
that  the  present  Hottentot  population  is  probably  an  abler 
and  stronger  race  than  were  their  ancestors,  A  Hottentot 
woman,  while  affecting  to  despise  a  Kaffir,  usually  prefers 
a  European  suitor  to  a  man  of  her  own  nation.  Such 
imions  are  not  often  sanctioned  by  marriage,  but  never- 
theless frequently  continue  during  the  life  of  one  of  the 
parties.  When  they  are  broken,  it  is  almost  always  by 
the  desertion  of  the  European  man,  and  not  by  the  un- 
faithfulness  of  the  Hottentot  woman. 


CONTACT  OF  EUROPEANS  WITH  NATIVES.  517 

Kaffirs^ 

But  if  the  Hottentot  race  is  not  now  dying  out,  but  in- 
creasing, much  less  is  the  Kaffir  family  likely  to  "  melt 
away"  or  "give  place"  to  other  races.      Whatever  our 
platform  rhetorician  may  say,  inexorable  facts  are  against 
this  supposition.     While  the  Dutch  from  the  south  were 
mysteriously  dealing  with  the  Hottentots,  a  black  army 
was  advancing  upon  the  same  people  from  the  north-east. 
The  first  mention  of  the  Kaffirs  in  the  Dutch  colonial 
records  represents  them  as  having  then  (1688)  driven  the 
Hottentots  as  far  south  as  the  Great  Fish  Eiver.     In  1702 
the  first  fight  took  place  between  Kaffirs  and  Europeans — 
the  latter  being  forty-five  in  number,  with  an  equal  num- 
ber of  Hottentots.     The  Dutch  were  ostensibly  on  a  trad- 
ing trip,  but  powder  and  lead  would  seem  to  have  been  the 
commodity  in  which  they  chiefly  dealt.     In  1737  there 
was  still  a  considerable  tract  of  country  between  the  Dutch 
settlers  and  the  Kaffirs,  which  was  inhabited  by  the  Gonaqua 
Hottentots.     At  this  time  the  hunting-field  of  the  Dutch- 
men was  at  Sunday  river ;  the  Gonaquas  lay  to  the  east  of 
the  Pish  river ;  while  the  town  of  the  Amaxosa  Kaffirs  was 
five  days'  journey  beyond  the  G<)naquas,  and  to  the  east. 
We  learn  thus  minutely  the  position  of  the  races  at  this 
early  period  from  a  paper  written  by  Secretary  Tulbagh, 
and  signed  at  Cape  Town  in  1737  by  two  survivors  of 
Heupenaar's  party,  who  crossed  the  country  from  Natal  to 
the  Cape  Colony.^     In  1778  the  two  aggressive  races  had 
between  them  "eaten  up"  the  Gonaquas,  and  now  made  their 
first  treaty,  recognising  the  Fish  river  as  a  boundary  between 
one  another.     And  now  for  years  we  have  the  spectacle  of 
two  races  dashing  against  one  another  in  hostile  attitude. 
The  law  of  the  European  society  in  Southern  Africa  was 
aggressive,  but  not  more  so  than  that  of  the  Kaffir  tribes, 
which  was  simply,  as  far  and  as  often  as  they  could,  to 
**  eat  up  "  all  their  neighbours,  black  or  white.     The  scene 
of  this  combat  changed  from  time  to  time,  like  the  ebb  and 

1-  Jiemarks  on  Publication  of  Cape  Records,    By  a  Member  of  late 
Committee.    P.  48. 


518  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

flow  of  the  tide.     In  the  rich  Zuurveldt,  where  the  town 
of  Grahamstown  now  stands,  it  seemed  at  one  time  as  if 
the  two  races  were  to  live  together  in  peace  and  friendship. 
^'  Tlieir  flocks  grazed  on  the  same  hills,  and  their  herdsmen 
smoked  together  out  of  the  same  pipes."     But,  like  an  oyer- 
flowing  caldron,  Kafl5r-land,  convuLsed  with  internal  feuds, 
pmxred  its  people  into  the  Zuurveldt  in  1789,  from  which 
they  dislodged  the  I>ntc^,  wbA  fuftwiul  Aem  urestward, 
until  in  1797  Barrow  foimd  a  large  tribe  of  dusky  emi- 
grants on  the  banks  of  the  Sunday  river,  and  some  had 
advanced  as  far  westward  as  the  borders   of    Swellen- 
dam.     In  1811,  the  colony  being  now  under  the  English 
Government,  the  black  wave  was  rolled  back  again,  some 
20,000  Kaffirs  being,  wisely  or  unwisely,  compelled  to  re- 
cross  the  Fish  river.     This  was  followed  by  an  invasion  of 
the  colony  by  the  Kaffirs  in  1817.     When  peace  was  con- 
cluded in  1819,  the  country  between  the  Fish  river  and 
the  Keiskama  was  declared  by  the  English  to  be  a  neutral 
territory,  which  was  to  be  imoccupied  except  by  miUtaiy 
posts.     This  stipulation,  however,  was  relaxed,  and  Graika 
and  other  chiefs  were  allowed  to  settle  there  as  a  favour. 
In  1829  it  was  held  that  Makomo,  the  son  of  Gaika,  had 
forfeited  his  claim  to  this  privilege  by  attacking  a  small 
neighbouring  tribe,  and  pursuing  them  within  the  colonial 
boundary.     The  Kaffirs  were  therefore  again  driven  east- 
ward beyond  the  Keiskama;  and  again,  in  1834,  was  this 
succeeded  by  an  invasion  of  the  colony.     However  much 
we  may  regret  the  costly  Kaffir  wars  of  1846  and  1851, — 
especially  if  we  believe  that  the  settlement  of  Sir  B.  Durliam 
in  1 835  would  have  prevented  them,  had  it  been  carried  into 
practice, — it  would  seem,  on  the  other  hand,  simply  impos- 
sible to  have  entirely  avoided  fighting,  when  warlike  KadSrs 
came  into  contact  with  scattered  and  pastoral  colonists. 
If  we  consider  what  may  be  called  the  normal  state  of 
Kaffir  society,  of  which  they  sing  in  their  dances,  &nd  to 
which  young  men  are  encouraged  to  look  forward  wben 
they  are  circumcised,  it  is  evident  that  peaceful  colonists 
could  not  possibly  exist  in  their  neighbourhood.     As  they 
drove  the  Hottentots  before  them,  and  robbed  them  erf 


CONTACT  OF  EUROPEANS  WITH  NATIVES.  519 

their  cattle,  so  would  they  have  treated  the  Europeans  had 
they  been  able.  The  degree  of  latitude  in  which  the  two 
races  met  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter. 
They  might  have  a  river,  or  a  wide  "neutral  territory" 
between  them,  but  they  would  certainly  meet  in  combat, 
and  stand  or  fall  according  to  their  ability  to  fight.  In 
point  of  fact,  the  country,  which  was  sometimes  the  osten- 
sible cause  of  quarrel,  belonged  as  much  to  the  Europeans 
as  to  the  Kaffirs — ^both  races  having  only  recently  made 
their  appearance  in  it,  dispossessing  its  former  Hottentot 
inhabitants.  And  with  reference  to  the  future,  it  is  evident 
that  if  peace  is  to  be  permanent,  the  Kaffir  idea  of  life 
and  society  must  be  changed  or  rendered  impossible. 
Surrounded  on  all  sides  by  Europeans,  every  Kaffir  town 
occupied  by  missionaries,  the  downfall  of  tlus  lawless  and 
bloody  feudalism  is  inevitable.  And  surely  no  South 
African  Jacobite  will  be  so  sentimental  as  to  shed  a  single 
tear  when  it  passes  away. 

In  1857  the  colony  was  again  invaded  by  the  Kaffirs, 
but  this  time  they  came  not  singing  their  war-song  and 
anticipating  victory.  They  made  their  appearance  at  the 
doors  of  the  colonists  emaciated  and  starving,  humbly 
craving  for  a  little  food.  The  Kaffirs  believe  in  the 
visions  of  certain  prophets  or  oracles  who  arise  among 
them  from  time  to  time.  In  the  war  of  1817-19,  they 
were  led  by  Makanna,  and  in  1850  by  Umlanjeni,  both 
of  whom  professed  to  have  supernatural  powers.  In 
1857,  Umhlakaza  gave  forth  a  message  which  stirred  the 
whole  Kaffir  people,  and  in  which  cunning  and  fanaticism 
would  seem  to  have  been  strangely  blended.  He  said  that 
"  in  a  certain  subterranean  cave  in  Kreli's  country,  there 
were  innumerable  fat  cattle,  which  the  Kaffirs  might  pos- 
sess, but  only  after  they  had  entirely  destroyed  their  pre- 
sent flocks  and  herds,  as  well  as  the  com  and  other  food 
which  they  had  stored.  Inducements  were  held  forth  that 
ten  cattle  would  be  restored  for  every  one  killed ;  that  the 
ancestors  of  their  nation  would  soon  appear  in  person ;  that 
the  white  men  were  to  be  driven  into  the  sea,  and  that  then 
the  Kaffir  nation  was  to  settle  down  and  enjoy  the  land." 


520  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

This  prophecy  had  no  doubt  a  deep  and  heathenish 
political  meaning.  It  was  evidently  thought  that  if  the 
Kaffirs  had  absolutely  no  food  whatever  in  their  own 
country,  for  themselves  or  for  their  families,  and  if  they 
were  led  at  once  against  the  white  people,  they  would  fight 
as  they  had  never  done  before.  The  sufferings  of  helpless 
old  people  and  young  children,  necessarily  involved  in 
carrying  out  such  a  scheme,  were  not  taken  into  account 
by  this  dreadful  prophet,  and  those  who  shared  with  him 
his  secrets  and  his  counsels.  But  the  scheme,  which  se^ns 
to  have  been  well  planned  as  a  whole,  utterly  failed  in  tilie 
carrying  out  of  its  details.  Had  all  promptly  obeyed  the 
(comjnands  of  the  prophet,  slain  their  cattle  and  destroyed 
their  corn  and  marched  at  once  into  the  colony,  no  one  can 
tell  what  the  result  would  have  been.  But  the  chiefe  did 
not  all  obey.  The  Fingoes  and  several  Kaffir  chiefs,  who 
were  more  or  less  influenced  by  Christianity,  openly  ex- 
pressed their  disbelief  in  the  oracle,  and  refused  to  destroy 
their  cattle.  Others  professed  their  belief  in  the  prophet^ 
and  wished  it  to  be  understood  that  they  had  obeyed  his 
command,  having,  however,  spared  some  of  their  cattle  and 
a  quantity  of  their  com.  As  the  prophet  insisted  that 
everything  should  be  destroyed,  a  difficulty  arose,  throng 
the  hesitancy  and  wavering  of  some.  No  general  move- 
ment could  take  place.  In  the  meantime  those  who  had 
wildly  and  unquestioningly  obeyed  the  command,  giving 
their  herds  to  the  wolves  and  vultures  to  eat,  and  scattering 
their  com  to  rot  on  the  ground,  were  themselves  now 
famishing.  In  vain  the  wily  chief  Makomo  endeavoured 
to  strengthen  the  power  of  the  prophet  by  declaring  that 
he  too  had  seen  some  of  their  Kaffir  ancestors,  and  had 
spoken  to  them ;  the  hesitating  ones  were  not  to  be  con- 
vinced. And  so  this  scheme  of  vengeance  and  of  conqnert 
became  a  complete  failure,  and  an  awful  calamity  to  ihe 
Kaffirs  themselves.  Many  died  of  staivation,  and  some 
30,000  were  saved  from  death  by  the  food  whidi  thcj 
obtained  from  their  former  enemies  in  the  colony. 

When  we  think  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Cape  Colany, 
we  are  accustomed  to  think  of  the  Europeans  who  have  at 


CONTACT  OF  EUROPEANS  WITH  NATIVES.  521 

different  times  emigrated  thither.  But  they  are  not  the 
only  emigrants  there.  As  it  has  been  impossible  to  arrest 
the  northward  and  eastward  spread  of  the  white  men,  so 
has  the  attempt  to  stem  the  southward  and  westward  pro- 
gress of  the  Kaffirs  been  a  complete  failure.  Swept  more 
than  once  out  of  the  colony  by  the  English,  the  number 
of  Kaffirs  within  its  boundary,  in  1865,  and  not  including 
British  Kaffraria,  was  100,536. 

These  figures  show  that  the  Kaffir  people  themselves 
desire  to  be  freed  from  the  blind  and  despotic  sway  of  chief 
and  witch-doctor.  If  this  were  not  the  case,  they  might  at 
once  return  to  their  own  tribes,  as  no  restraint  is  placed 
upon  them.  No  doubt  secret  messages  from  the  chiefs 
could  be  conveyed  to  the  colony,  and  this  has  indeed  taken 
place.  But  their  long-dreaded  power  is  waning  every 
year,  and  while  the  presence  of  commissioners  in  Kaffir- 
and  is  likely  to  put  a  stop  to  evil  counsels,  the  scattered 
condition  of  the  people  must  also  discourage  the  chief  from 
attempting  to  organize  war-parties. 

Bechuanas, 

While  the  Dutch  and  English  have  been  filling  up  the 
colony  from  the  south,  and  the  Kaffirs  have  poured  in  from 
the  east,  another  immigration  has  been  going  on  from  the 
north.  Every  colonial  village,  every  agricultural  and 
pastoral  district,  contains  a  niunber  of  servants  who  come 
from  Bechuana-land.  Even  on  the  sea-board  you  meet 
with  them.  In  sequestered  glens  you  find  little  colonies 
together.  In  the  Census  which  we  have  quoted  they  are 
included  under  the  head  "  other  natives,"  of  whom  there 
are  132,655.  Most  of  them  do  not  intend  to  return  north- 
ward. They  prefer  the  colony  on  the  whole.  If  the 
traveller  in  certain  districts  of  Bechuana-land  sometimes 
feels  inclined  to  exclaim  "Where  ane  the  people?"  the 
answer  is,  I  think,  on  the  whole,  a  very  satisfactory  one. 
They  have  deserted  the  Pagan  towns,  and  are  helping  the 
white  man  in  the  colony,  by  such  service  as  they  can  render, 
to  rear  Christian  homesteads  and  busy  villages,  where  but 

2l 


622  NORTH  OF  THE  ORANGE  RIVER. 

a  few  years  ago  the  solitary  Bushman  stalked  the  gnu  and 
the  springbok.  It  is  to  be  hoped  their  masters  and  their 
masters'  Christian  overseers  do  not  forget  those  pushing 
emigrants.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  in  many  ca^es  they 
receive  Christian  instruction,  which  will  make  them  better 
qualified  either  to  reside  in  a  civilized  country,  or  to  retom 
to  the  land  of  their  fathers.  While  tribes  are  being  broken 
up  in  the  north,  sometimes  as  the  indirect  result  of  the 
labours  of  Christian  missionaries,  and  their  members  are 
spreading  themselves  southward,  working  for  their  bread 
and  paying  for  what  they  possess,  the  white  men  are 
looking  northward,  entering  those  partially  disorganized 
countries,  and  Gradually  assuming  in  them  the  position 
which  their  gr^r  abUity  as  compared  with  na^  en- 
ables  them  to  sustain.  For  just  as  the  black  emigrant  in 
the  colony  does  not  don  civilisation  in  a  day,  or  find  him- 
self all  at  once  in  possession  of  a  waggon,  or  a  shop,  or  a 
villa  at  Green  Point  or  Mowbray,  so  it  is  not  to  be  supposed 
that  the  white  men  beyond  the  colony  will  suddenly  become 
divested  of  their  energy  and  skill  and  civilisation.  The 
one  goes  south  and  falls  into  the  position  of  a  servant,  and 
finds  masters  and  pay  for  his  service.  The  other  travels 
northward  in  the  power  and  resource  of  the  educated  Euro- 
pean, and  gradually  the  management  of  things  slips  out  <^ 
the  hands  of  natives  and  of  ignorant  frontier-bom  men, 
and  the  "  uitlander  "  (foreigner)  finds  himself  in  a  position 
of  trust  and  responsibility. 

But  it  seems  to  me  evident  that  the  parties  who  toe  thus 
coalescing  ought  not  to  have  among  themselves  the  whole 
settlement  of  their  quarrels  on  the  border  land.  In  this 
case,  the  strong  would  infallibly  oppress  the  weak,  and 
justice  suffer  and  miscarry.  For  if  it  is  hard  for  one 
race  to  be  all  at  once  energetic  and  industrious  in  an  entirely 
changed  state  of  society,  it  ia  perhaps  even  more  difficult 
for  the  man  of  energy  to  be  merciful  and  considerate,  or 
even  just,  at  all  times,  to  those  whom  he  is  elbowing  out 
of  the  way.  While,  then,  it  is  for  the  black  man  to  try 
to  be  "  up  to  the  mark  "  as  to  enei^  and  perseverance,  it 
is  for  the  European  to  prove  himself  a  Christian  by  re- 


CONTACT  OF  EUKOPEANS  WITH  NATIVES.  523 

pressing  impatience  in  his  dealings  with  men  who  are 
1800  years  behind  his  native  land  in  thought  and  attain- 
ment. But  if  a  third  party  is  to  be  called  in,  it  is  evident 
that  it  must  be  one  whom  the  white  man  will  respect,  and 
whose  award  he  will  obey.  The  Christian  man,  who 
wishes  well  to  Europeans  and  to  Africans,  could  desire  no 
more  than  that,  with  Christianity  to  elevate,  there  should 
be  a  strong  and  just  government  to  protect,  to  restrain,  and, 
if  necessary,  to  punish.  For  all  colours  and  races  let  there 
be  "  a  fair  field  and  no  favour,"  and  may  God's  mercy  be 
over  all  1 

I  have  been  much  interested  to  find  that  Sir  Charles 
Wentworth  Dilke  recommends,  for  the  preservation  of 
the  remaining  Red  Indians,  the  very  process  which  is 
now  taking  place,  in  God's  providence,  in  Southern 
Africa.  "Hitherto  the  whites  have  pushed  back  the 
Indians  westwards ;  if  they  would  preserve  the  remnant 
from  starvation  they  must'  bring  tLm  east,  away  from 
Western  men,  and  Western  hunting-grounds,  and  let  them 
intermingle  with  the  whites,  living,  farming,  along  with 
them,  intermarrying  if  possible.",^  In  Southern  Africa, 
and  without  the  interference  of  any  one,  the  restless, 
the  powerful,  and  skilful  are  passing  northwards ;  the  com- 
paratively weak  and  ignorant  are  emigrating  southward, 
and  there  finding  a  peaceful  home. 

1  Greater  Britain,  vol.  i.  p.  180. 


SDINBaBOH  :  T.  AlfD  A.  00N8TABLB, 
PRINTERS  TO  THE  QUEBN,  AITD  TO  THE  UNIVEBSITT. 


^^ 


"i-i;  y-    iv^zy